Somewhere between couture and curiosity, bugs have got a full image overhaul. No longer the kind you nervously brush off your arm, they are now showing up embroidered, sculpted, and, increasingly, styled. At the recently concluded Lakmé Fashion Week, Rahul Mishra sent out a surreal set dotted with larger-than-life dragonflies and ladybugs. Showstopper Ananya Panday’s look featured delicate dragonfly detailing that leaned more fairytale than creepy-crawly.
Jewellery has been in on this for a while. Designers like Bhavya Ramesh have turned beetles, butterflies, and other tiny creatures into pieces you’d actually want to wear, blurring the line between ornament and oddity. But it’s not stopping at fashion. Because if bugs are showing up on runways, it is only a matter of time before they made their way into homes.
Earlier this year, writer and fashion consultant Varun Rana designed his first collection with Obeetee, titled ‘Insectif’, which brought insect motifs onto carpets in a way that felt both unexpected and oddly natural. The starting point, as he recalls, was a quiet morning in Mirzapur: “I was sipping my morning tea on the veranda, when a beautiful insect landed on the rug below my feet and started walking around. It appeared like a jewel on the carpet, and I remember thinking that if someone could make a carpet with this design, it would be insane,” recalls the Delhi-based creative, who has designed 10 playful pieces, someone of which remind of us of vintage video games.
What makes insects so compelling, Rana adds, is how easily we overlook them. “Insects don’t really fly in our vision; they stay hidden in the grass or bushes or under a log somewhere. But when you really look at them, they’re insanely gorgeous.”
And that shift in perspective is exactly what’s playing out across design right now. Bugs are no longer something to avoid but something to notice, collect, and even style. Whether it’s a statement carpet, a sculptural lamp, or smaller accents that quietly bring in the motif, there are plenty of ways to let them in without going overboard. Consider these eight pieces your starting point.
