INDIA: Gaurav Gupta’s Haute Couture Collection took to the runway at Jio World Pavilion 3 in Mumbai in July 2026, bringing the avant-garde Indian couturier’s distinctive sculptural aesthetic to a presentation built around the theme Lunar & Solar. With Gupta’s work having featured internationally, including at Paris Haute Couture Week, the lighting design needed to complement the collection’s dramatic visual language without competing with it.

Lighting designer Harshavardhan Pathak shaped the show around 118 Ayrton Veloce Profiles, supplied by SSL Media, Mumbai. The fixtures were rigged on a custom-built overhead truss positioned to provide the required geometry for two concentric oval runways. “The SSL team rigged the Veloces exactly how they were shown in my design,” he says. “This enabled me to focus them from the perfect position in every case, then fine-tune each one using a combination of Veloce’s shutters, focus and zoom to create the perfect oval shaped runways.”

The resulting circles of soft, ethereal light provided tightly controlled illumination across the collection, while maintaining the clean, sculptural lines of the overall presentation. At the centre of the two circles, aerial dancers performed choreography by Gauri Devi, International Artistic Director and Founder of performing arts company Natya Nectar Circus De India.

“I used gobos from the overhead Veloce Profiles to create an orbit effect around a pair of suspended dancers,” says Harsha Pathak, “and illuminated them from above in tight circles of light that enhanced the sense of drama and isolation, and introduced a contrast of warm and cool colours to emphasise the Lunar & Solar theme.”

The show was programmed on a GrandMA3 full size, with Pathak noting that the console “helped me adjust the 118 Veloce Profiles in just 90 minutes!” He also credited the SSL Media team, led by Mr Ulhas Sahasrabuddhe, for their technical support, alongside Kekul Sheth from VMT (Vardhaman Mega-Tech), Ayrton’s exclusive distributor for India.

“We have done many shows with Harsha Pathak in the past years,” comments Ulhas Sahasrabuddhe of SSL Media. “It was an exciting opportunity to execute this unusual design suggested for the Gaurav Gupta Show. The Ayrton Veloce performed flawlessly – as expected – and a special mention must be made for its Blade function, which was the centrepiece of this design. We look forward to adding more Ayrton fixtures in the immediate future.”

“At VMT we strive to be associated with the best of the best,” adds Kekul Sheth of VMT Enterprise Sales, “and Ulhas Sahasrabuddhe, Team SSL Media and Harsha Pathak resonate the same. The Ayrton Veloce lived up to their billing as amongst the best in the business, delivering a spectacular show. We look forward to our continued successful partnership with Ayrton for sales in the Indian Market.”

“We are immensely proud to see the Veloce Profile play such a pivotal role in bringing Harshavardhan Pathak’s breathtaking vision to life for Gaurav Gupta’s Haute Couture collection,” says Vijay Thaygarajoo, Regional Sales Manager APAC for Ayrton. “Harsha’s creative use of the Veloce’s framing and gobos perfectly captured the ethereal drama of the Lunar & Solar theme. Our sincere thanks go to our trusted distributor VMT, along with Ulhas Sahasrabuddhe and the outstanding team at SSL Media, for their flawless execution and continued dedication to pushing creative boundaries with Ayrton fixtures in India.”