The fashion industry is reeling from the loss of Divyanshu Joshi, a 26-year-old freelance model and store manager for the acclaimed label Kartik Research, who died on May 28 while on a photo shoot in Kerala, India. The incident has forced a long-overdue reckoning with safety protocols on set - a conversation that, until now, has been whispered in fitting rooms but rarely shouted from runways. Kartik Research, a two-time LVMH Prize semifinalist known for its intricate South Asian-inspired tailoring and collaborations with artisans from Assam to Rajasthan, has postponed its scheduled Paris Men's Fashion Week show on June 25. The brand's founder, Kartik Kumra - who taught himself to sew during pandemic lockdowns after returning from the University of Pennsylvania - has declined public comment, directing attention instead to honoring Joshi's memory. Preliminary reports suggest Joshi drowned while scouting a location at an abandoned quarry in Pettamala, a site notorious for hazardous conditions and off-limits to swimming. The tragedy has sparked urgent questions about risk assessment and crew welfare, echoing similar calls for accountability that have periodically surfaced in the industry since the 1990s, when supermodels like Naomi Campbell began publicly challenging unsafe working environments. For context, the lingerie world has long grappled with its own safety gaps - from poorly ventilated corset workshops in 19th-century Paris to the unchecked use of toxic dyes in modern lace production. Yet, as Sanjay Nigam of the Fashion Entrepreneur Fund noted, Joshi's death is a "wake-up call" that forces the industry to confront its systemic negligence. Joshi, described by friends as "warm and ambitious," leaves behind a community demanding that his final photo shoot not be in vain.
Originally reported by WWD