New Delhi, Sept. 21 -- For Chennai-based fashion designer Vivek Karunakaran, the showcase of his new collection, IDAM, at the recent Chettinad Heritage Festival 2025, proved to be quite emotional. "I think I was very sure of what I wanted to say until I took the first step on the stage and was handed over the microphone. I became completely blank and completely emotional," says Karunakaran of the show that was held inside the 118-year-old Chidambara Vilas heritage palace in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu.

The palace's main show arena (Kalyanakottagai), done up in sheer drapes set against Chettinad pillars trimmed with wheat sheaves, served as the ramp where male and female models walked out in designs in a colour palette dominated by a striking r...