FORM SEPT - OCT 2026 | VOL.1 ISSUE 1 SAMANTHA RUTH PRABHU “MOVEMENT IS A WAY OF LIFE”
FORMULA 1® LOUIS VUITTON TROPHY TRUNKS
WIMBLEDON COLLECTION
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TADEJ POGAČAR A shared pursuit of performance richardmille.com
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September October COVER IMAGE On Samantha Ruth Prabhu, MILE COLLECTIVE.FORM INDIA, SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER, 2026 14 20 26 EDITOR’S LETTER THE NEW UNIFORM 28 COLOR THEORY 30 THE NEW MOVEMENT Contents Performance pieces redefining everyday dressing. The return of vibrant hues signals a new chapter in sport and fashion. Harshita on how movement, lifestyle and fashion are rewriting the activewear wardrobe. BY VIRATI SHAH 38 OUT OF THE NEUTRALS Why sportswear is trading its blacks and greys for a more expressive palette. BY VIRATI SHAH 50 SILVER SUN photographed by Saransh Gaur 54 PLAYING WITH COLOR photographed by Amrisha Gurbani 40 CHASING AND BEING CHASED A voice note by Samantha that sums up movement the way it was always meant to be. BY VIRATI SHAH
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I was one of those girls who would hate it when there was a sports class in school. I hated playing, I hated any kind of movement, and I also hated the other students who were way too excited about it. I used to play kho-kho, but if someone was too fast to catch me, I would simply surrender myself.. It was only very recently, in my fourth year of undergrad, that something changed. I started going to the gym at my university and, somewhere along the way, got addicted to movement. I started playing tennis, my routine got better, and suddenly I was waking up at 6 a.m., packing for the entire day at college, hitting the gym, journaling, reading and then starting my day with studies. My day would end at 9 p.m. with a tennis session. For the first time, I had actually fallen in love with movement. Activewear has been my favorite clothing category ever since. I love exploring interesting brands in this space, especially Indian ones. There is something about activewear that makes me feel motivated and confident. I truly feel like myself when I am in these clothes. So when I got the opportunity to speak to Harshita, co-founder of Mile Collective, for this issue, I was genuinely excited. Our conversation opened up a much larger perspective on movement for me, one that went beyond clothes and sport, into culture, community and the ways we choose to live. They say movement is a privilege, and I agree with that wholeheartedly. This issue was built with a lot of heart, curiosity and, of course, movement. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed creating it.FORM INDIA, SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER, 2026 20THE GIRL WHO HATED SPORTS Editor’s Letter
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The new uniform Performance pieces redefining everyday dressing. 1. 2. 3. 4. 1. Wimbledon Leather-Trim Canvas Tennis Bag, POLO RALPH LAUREN, Rs.56,100 2.Navy Plie Pleated Skort, CAVA ATHLIESURE, Rs.1,699 3.Airlift Headband, ALO, Rs.5,550 4.Cloudmonster 2, ON, Rs.11,250FORM INDIA, SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER, 2026 26 Style
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Color theory The return of vibrant hues signals a new chapter in sport and fashion. 1. The JACQUEMUS+NIKE t-shirt dress, Rs.20,000 2.Pegasus Premium, NIKE, Rs.19,295 3.denim visor, MIU MIU, Rs.53,733 4.Bbblegum on the shorts , MILE COLLECTIVE, Rs.1,999FORM INDIA, SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER, 2026 28 Style 1. 2.3. 4.
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MOVEMENT BEYOND SPORTHarshita on how movement, lifestyle and fashion are rewriting the activewear wardrobe. BY VIRATI SHAH There was a time when activewear had a time and a place. Leggings belonged to the gym, tennis skirts to the court, and anything technical was reserved for the hour marked out for exercise. Today, those boundaries are beginning to dissolve. Sport has escaped its designated arena, and fashion is making room for it. For Harshita, co-founder of Mile Collective, alongside Samantha, the shift has been visible since the brand began in 2023. What started as a relatively new category in India has evolved alongside a growing culture of wellness, social sport and digital influence. Pickleball and padel are no longer simply games; they have become ways to meet, socialise and spend time.FORM INDIA, SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER, 2026 30
And with that shift, what we wear to move has become part of how we present ourselves. FORM: What has changed most in the way people look at activewear? Harshita: COVID was probably the starting point. People began looking at fitness and wellness as a necessity. Since then, sport has become much more lifestyle-driven. FORM: What does movement mean to Mile Collective beyond fitness? Harshita: Movement is different for everyone. It could be running, yoga, a sport or simply being active. Our On The Go collection was designed around that idea, to make movement feel accessible rather than intimidating, particularly for Indian women. FORM: Do you think the line between activewear and everyday fashion will continue to disappear? Harshita: Absolutely. Women are busier and don't want to change between multiple outfits throughout the day. They want something comfortable, functional and versatile. I also think we’ll see much stronger adoption in Tier-2 cities, alongside a growing openness towards Indian brands. From performance to personal style, the new sporting wardrobe isn't asking where movement ends and fashion begins. It is suggesting they were never separate to begin with. “Activewear and athleisure used to be two separate things. Now they’ve kind of merged into one. Harshita and Samantha, Co - founders of Mile Collective. Pravishta and Harshita, Co - founders of Mile Collective.FORM INDIA, SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER, 2026 31
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OUT OF THE NEUTRAL ZONEWhy sportswear is trading its blacks and greys for a more expressive palette. BY VIRATI SHAH For a long time, sportswear had a colour problem. Black was slimming, grey was technical, white was clean and together, they formed the unofficial uniform of performance dressing. Colour existed, but usually as an accent: a fluorescent stripe on a running shoe, a logo in red, a flash of neon designed to be seen rather than noticed. That restraint is beginning to loosen. Across Spring/Summer 2026 fashion, designers made a case for saturated primary colours, with red, blue, violet and emerald appearing across major collections. The same energy is filtering into sportswear, where colour is becoming less about function and more about expression. Red has emerged particularly strongly in activewear, while blue is finding its way into everything from running sets to accessories. But the new palette isn't simply a return to head-to-toe neon. Softer cloud blues, sage, cherry red and even sophisticated browns are sharing space with brighter shades, creating a sportswear wardrobe that feels considered rather than clinical. The shift makes sense. Sportswear is no longer confined to the gym or the playing field. The same running shoe can finish an everyday outfit; a tennis skirt can move from court to street; a technical jacket can become part of a fashion look. As performance pieces become part of the everyday wardrobe, colour has acquired a new role: it is no longer simply there to perform. It is there to communicate. The Palette in Play - Cherry Red, Sage Green, Powder Blue, New Brown.FORM INDIA, SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER, 2026 38
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CHASING AND BEING CHASED A voice note by Samantha that sums up movement the way it was always meant to be. BY VIRATI SHAHFORM INDIA, SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER, 2026 40
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So many things can go wrong during your first month of training at the gym. You could easily lift seven-kilogram dumbbels off the rack and almost meet God while lowering them during a chest press. You could get into a one-sided running contest with a guy before realising he’s probably had years of practice and you’re mortifyingly close to the edge of the treadmill. Or, in a moment of misplaced self-confidence, you could sign up for a workout class with Samantha Ruth Prabhu. When I arrive for our session at Breathe Studio in Khar, I expect I will have some time to get my bearings—by which I mean eliminating any chance of death-by- equipment and coaxing the trainer into going easy on me. But Samantha is already on the mat with head coach Paridhi Doshi, waving me over to join them. I wave back, double-knot my shoelaces and drop a pin to my husband on WhatsApp with the accompanying text saying: “If you don’t hear from me in two hours, look for me in the nearest hospital.”s We start with squats—five-kilogram dumbbells for me, a barbell stacked with plates I’m too afraid to even look at for Samantha. The studio has been asked to turn the music off so I can speak with the actor without having to scream, but between fighting for breath between reps and the clicking sound my knees make every time I move, there’s enough audio disturbance. It’s only when we’re doing wall sits later that I recover enough to really look at Samantha: taut calves, firm stomach, enviable shoulder blades, a face that looks like it is drenched in dew rather than soaked in sweat like mine. “How has the new year started for you?” I blurt out when she catches me staring. “The horoscope writer at Vogue,” I explain, “told me that Taureans will have one of the most transformative years of their lives. Has that been the case for you?” The 38-year-old star’s answer seems to emerge from post-squat clarity. “The past few years have been incredibly- transformative for me. When you’re in the public eye, there’s always a fear of embarrassing yourself, of being cancelled, of being trolled. You’re constantly trying to guard your status because you’re so scared of losing it. Because when you fall, everyone watches, right? It’s public.” And it has been a very public everything. A very public first wedding to Telugu superstar Naga Chaitanya, followed by a very public divorce and a very public health diagnosis. “When I went through a separation, I closed up completely. I didn’t think it would ever be possible to rely on someone else.” A smile begins to spread across her face, like she’s so glad to have been proven wrong.FORM INDIA, SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER, 2026 42
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“Thankfully, I was vulnerable enough to accept that kind of love and friendship. And I’m a much better person because of the relationship I’m in. Because of the person Raj (Nidimoru) is.” It’s a transformation those close to her can attest to. “I met an old friend a few days ago and she sent me a voice note afterwards saying, ‘This is the first time in a long time that I feel like you’re not struggling to breathe.’ I’m not performing anymore.” Paridhi is shooting daggers at us because we’ve overshot our rest limit and are supposed to be two reps into our next set. Samantha and I, both dyed-in-the-wool millennials, tell her she is too Gen Z to talk or hear about love without feeling embarrassed. She has one word for us both. “Lunges,” she growls. “Leave the 5, pick up the 7.5,” she adds, looking at me stoically and I detect the slightest note of vengeance in her sweet voice. I look to Samantha for help but she, ever the dutiful student, has already started without me. And so it is that we become like two ships passing in the night—me, an inflatable raft in a hurricane, losing my balance with every step I take; Samantha, a sturdy ocean liner already on her way back to the starting point, ready for her next rep. When our paths cross, she sends words of encouragement my way. “You have great flexibility. I struggled with that.” When I collapse on the mat two minutes later, she sits next to me quietly, a silence that neither of us feels compelled to break. Instead, her triceps seem to be doing the talking for her, catching the golden hour at different angles as she breathes in and out. She catches me looking—again—and explains, “I do my own stunts in all my films so I have to be strong. It needs to look believable.” I realise, belatedly, that she has mistaken my appreciation for aversion. Her apprehensions aren’t unfounded. When cricketer Smriti Mandhana wore a halter- neck gown to an event in Bengaluru in December last year, her deltoids were deemed ‘too manly’ by men who incidentally looked like they wouldn’t last five seconds in an arm-wrestling match with a kitten. “When I shoot with brands and often in films, too, they try to cover my arms because they think muscles on a woman aren’t attractive,” Samantha confesses. “Which is why,” she continues, beaming now, “it was so cool that Vogue gave me weights during the shoot and asked me to pump before each shot so my triceps would look well-defined. That’s usually only done for men.” Throughout our conversation, Samantha’s phone has buzzed with calls and messages, every one of which she has courteously ignored. I imagine it’s a busy period for her as a multihyphenate who has several active entrepreneurial hustles and a film on the cusp of release. “I do my own stunts in all my films so I have to be strong. It needs to look believable.”FORM INDIA, SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER, 2026 46
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Jacket, skirt CAVA ATHLEISURE SILVER SUN The mid-year reset court collection by Cava Athleisure is a fresh take on the modern court uniform. Photographed by SARANSH GAUR.FORM INDIA, SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER, 2026 50
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Sports bra, leggings, ATARA INDIA Bright, bold, and made to move, the new language of Atara India. Photographed by AMISHA GURBANI. PLAYING WITH COLORFORM INDIA, SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER, 2026 54
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