Truly Taj: Indian Fusion Dresses, Saree Dresses & Taj Mahal Print
Truly Taj is my newest capsule collection, drawn from the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Mughal craft around it. Fifteen pieces: two pre-draped saree dresses, print maxis and midis, two jacquard jackets, a kaftan and a top, from $178 to $368. Every print is one I drew myself.
I grew up in India watching my mother and my aunts embroider, knit and weave, and that is where this collection starts. I trained at London College of Fashion and at Alexander McQueen before Project Runway season 13, and I design every print from my studio in Scottsdale, Arizona. More on where it comes from in My Desi Heritage.
Every piece is named after a part of the Taj Mahal
This is not decoration. The Taj was built by the emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz Mahal, and the collection is named the way the monument is built — by its people, its materials and its light.
- Mumtaz — the empress the Taj was built for. A halter maxi on an ivory ground, printed with the inlaid flowers that run across the marble, bordered in orange and finished with white lace. $328.
- Jahan — Shah Jahan, who built it. A pre-draped saree dress in deep wine: a sequinned halter blouse over a crinkle-pleated metallic drape. $298, and there are five.
- Firdaus — paradise, the word the Taj's own inscriptions reach for. The same pre-draped saree in teal, with a ruffled shoulder. $298, five left.
- Jaali — the pierced marble screens that turn sunlight into pattern. A flowing V-neck maxi in grey and faded indigo with silver lurex. $298.
- Mehtab — the Mehtab Bagh, the garden built across the river purely to look at the Taj by moonlight. A twist-knot midi with flared bell sleeves, in the same lurex cloth. $298.
- Taj — the monument. A full orange kaftan maxi, the loudest thing I make. $298.
- Begum — a title for a woman of rank. A burgundy midi shirt dress with puff sleeves, hand-stitched orange and pink bows down the placket and a tasselled tie. $288.
- Noor — light. A cotton-linen midi split down the middle in rose and buttercup, with a scalloped seam and wooden buttons. $278.
- Kamal — the lotus, carved all over the Taj. A pale pink silk jacquard mini shot with silver, two bows at the neck. $228.
- Bagh — garden. An orange floral mini shirt dress with a band collar and a swing hem. $228.
- Agra — the city it stands in. A gold jacquard jacket with velvet bows. $228, four left.
- Babur — the first Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan's great-great-grandfather. Sea green jacquard with one oversized velvet bow. $238, four left.
- Jali Top — the screen print again, in a long-sleeved top with a smocked neckline. $178, and the easiest way into the collection.
Paris spent 2026 looking at India
This is the part I did not expect. At Dior's fall 2026 couture show, Jonathan Anderson built the collection around, in W Magazine's words, "craftsmanship from India, France, and beyond" — antique chintz on the bags, stone necklaces made in Jaipur and Rajasthan. The same week, WWD's review of Rahul Mishra's fall 2026 couture traced his embroidery back to the Ajanta Caves and a twelfth-century temple in Karnataka.
And at the Met Gala in May, WWD reported an Indian contingent answering "Fashion Is Art" by celebrating artisans and heirloom jewels, with Karan Johar telling them India "almost got the assignment better than any other." Chloe's fall collection went the same direction, which The Zoe Report called an ode to folkloric craft.
I have been designing this way for fifteen years, which is a strange thing to suddenly be in fashion. If you want the longer argument, I wrote Indian Fusion Fashion: Where Eastern Heritage Meets Western Style.
Two of this fall's six dress trends are already in here
Who What Wear's six dress trends of fall 2026 open with silk jacquard and close with drop waists and draping. I did not plan that, but it is useful.
Jacquard is a pattern woven into the cloth rather than printed on it, which is why the Kamal mini and the Agra and Babur jackets hold their shape and catch light from a distance. And a saree is the original draped garment — the Jahan and the Firdaus are pre-stitched, so you step into them and zip. No pleating, no pins, no twenty minutes in front of a mirror. If you have never worn one, what a sari actually is explains the drapes it comes from.
What to wear where
An Indian wedding or a sangeet. The Jahan or the Firdaus saree dress, or the Mumtaz if the event is outdoors and daytime. Event by event, I go through it in what to wear to an Indian wedding, and there are more options in Indian wedding guest dresses.
A Western wedding where you want to be remembered. Mumtaz, or the Kamal in jacquard with the Agra jacket over it.
Dinner, a gallery, a city evening. The Mehtab or the Jaali. The silver lurex does in low light what colour does in daylight, which is the whole idea behind a moonlight garden.
Resort and travel. The Taj kaftan, the Bagh mini, the Jali top. More in kaftan dresses.
Everyday. The Jali top with white trousers or jeans, which is the piece most people buy first.
The three grey lurex pieces have their own page: the Postcards from India print. The wider range sits in Indian fusion, and the jackets in one-of-a-kind jackets. If you want to see how a drawing becomes a fabric, that is how my prints are made.
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Questions I get asked
What is a pre-draped saree dress?
A saree that is already stitched into its drape, so it goes on like a dress. The Jahan and the Firdaus come as a three-piece set — a sequinned crop blouse, a pre-draped wrap skirt and a stole. You step in, zip up and you are done, with none of the pleating or pinning a traditional six-yard drape needs.
Can I wear these to an Indian wedding as a guest?
Yes, and that is what the two saree dresses are for. Avoid white and avoid red at the ceremony itself, since red is traditionally the bride's. The teal Firdaus, the burgundy Begum and the Mumtaz are all safe. Daytime events take print; evening events take the sequins and the metallic drape.
What does "Truly Taj" mean?
It is the name of this capsule. Every piece is named after something belonging to the Taj Mahal — the people who built it, the city it stands in, the lotus and lattice carved into it, and the garden across the river made for looking at it by moonlight.
Is the print actually of the Taj Mahal?
Not a picture of it, no. I drew the prints from its parts: the jali lattice screens, the inlaid marble flowers, and a stack of postcards with stamps and postmarks. The grey and indigo pieces are printed on rayon with silver lurex, so the cloth catches light the way the marble does at dusk.
What sizes do you carry?
Sizes XS through 3XL. Made-to-measure is available on this collection if you want a neckline, sleeve or hem changed.
Who makes these?
I design every print myself in Scottsdale, Arizona. The printing, the hand embroidery and the beading are done by artisans in India. Everything is made in small batches, and when a run sells out it does not come back.
Which piece should I start with?
The Jali top at $178 if you want to try the print without committing, the Kamal mini at $228 if you want something for an occasion, and one of the two saree dresses if you have a wedding coming up — there are only five of each.
Testimonials
★★★★★Gorgeous and Flattering
I recently wore this to a friends outdoor wedding and it was absolutely stunning! The fit was perfect the colour divine and I love the asymmetry. There are many accent colours to pair with these piece which makes accessorizing creative. I received many compliments thank you Sandhya! <3
Nina![]()
Austin, Texas
★★★★★Over the Moon
When I opened my package; I could not believe the huge smile that came on
my face. Not only was it beautiful, the quality was outstanding. I will be wearing many more designs by Sandhya Garg.Reba Aylward![Summer top for woman]()
New Bern, NC
