Few conversations at the Mpowering Minds Women's Mental Health Summit 2026 were as anticipated as the fireside chat with Masaba Gupta. The fashion designer, actor, and entrepreneur is a notably candid voice in Indian public life when it comes to the realities of mental health.
Moderated by Shweta Punj, economic policy editor, Moneycontrol, the chat was titled 'Carrying Hope Forward: Rebuilding from Within'—a phrase that could serve as a summary of Masaba's own story.
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Masaba, who founded House of Masaba aged 19, has built one of India's most recognisable fashion brands. She has extended her creative enterprise into bridal couture, fine jewellery and beauty with LoveChild by Masaba. While her achievements have made her a celebrated figure in contemporary India, it is her willingness to speak about what lies beneath them that is turning her into a modern icon.
At the event, Masaba said it was never a conscious decision to speak about her difficulties and therein help others. "I think it is something that just comes to me very naturally," she said. "In some ways I believe it is my upbringing. I believe that the way my mother has raised me has been to be very very candid. Wear your heart on your sleeve. Be absolutely authentic in the way that you deal with the world and the way that you present yourself. And... she led by example."
In a culture that tends to celebrate success while obscuring the struggle behind it, Masaba has consistently spoken about the importance of acknowledging your personal challenges. "I think we do the world and the people around us a great service when we are ourselves," she said. "Because then we allow them to be themselves. That's what I believe in. That you should show as your best version. No matter how... challenging your situation is." That approach, she said, has only served her. "So, being vulnerable, I think, is a superpower. I know a lot of people see it as a weakness. But, I don't. I see it as a very very big strength. And that is my biggest strength."
Her conversation with Punj touched on the relationship between identity and mental health, the pressure on women in the public eye, and the particular complexity of being someone who is both a brand and a person.
"Women can have it all, but they have to stagger it," said Masaba. "I think it really depends on what your support system is."
As the summit neared its culmination, her presence was a fitting reminder of its central argument: that the conversation about women's mental health belongs not at the margins, but at the very centre of how we talk about ambition, identity and what it means to thrive.