July 31, 2026 · Mahesh Agarwal, Founder
The neckline is the first thing a customer looks at when she pulls a kurti off the rack. It sits at eye level and it frames the face, so it decides in about two seconds whether she keeps holding the garment or puts it back. In our own production we have seen two kurtis cut from the same fabric, in the same size, sell at very different speeds purely because of the neck. Yet when orders come in, the neckline is usually the thing nobody asks about.
What has made this more interesting recently is that the range itself has widened. For years the ethnic wear trade ran on round, V and collar necks, and that was more or less the whole conversation. Younger buyers have changed that. Halter necks, broad necks, sweetheart shapes, crossover fronts and spaghetti straps all sit in kurti ranges now, and they were not there five years ago.
Here is what is in use today, and where each one belongs.
Round neck. Still the most produced neckline by a long way. It suits every fabric, every length and every age group, which is why it sits under most daily wear. The variation is in the depth. A shallow round reads formal, a deeper one reads casual. Most everyday cotton kurtas use some version of it.
V-neck. Lengthens the neck and flatters most face shapes, which is why it never really leaves. It also gives embroidery two clean edges to run along. Keep it moderate and it works at the office. Take it deeper and it becomes evening wear.
Boat neck. Wide and shallow, sitting close to the collarbone. It looks graceful on silk and festive pieces, but it needs the right undergarment to sit properly, and customers know that. They either love it or skip it entirely, so stock it for variety rather than depth.
Square neck. Clean and structured, and it has come back strongly. It suits plain fabrics where the cut has to do the work by itself.
Mandarin or Chinese collar. A short stand-up collar with no fold. It makes a kurti look tailored immediately, which is why it dominates office wear and kurta pant sets. It also rescues plain fabric, because the collar supplies the structure the fabric does not.
Shirt collar. Borrowed from western shirting and now everywhere in casual ranges. It reads younger and pairs naturally with jeans. You will find it often in short kurtis.
Notched neck. A round or square neck with a small slit at the centre. It costs almost nothing to produce and makes an ordinary kurti look thought through. For anyone manufacturing, this is probably the best return on a design decision you can get.
This is the section that did not exist a few years ago. These styles came into kurtis from western wear, and demand for them is real, particularly in metros and online.
Halter neck. The fabric ties or fastens behind the neck, leaving the shoulders bare. It has moved from party wear into fusion daily wear, usually on printed or textured fabrics, and it works well as a sleeveless kurti layered under a shrug or jacket. Fit at the bust matters more here than in almost any other neckline, so sampling deserves extra attention.
Broad or wide neck. A generously wide opening, usually square or gently curved, sitting out towards the shoulders. It reads modern and relaxed, it photographs well, and it suits both plain and boldly printed fabrics. Of the newer shapes, this is the one that has crossed over into ordinary daily wear fastest.
Sweetheart neck. A soft curved shape dipping to a gentle point at the centre. It is flattering and it feels dressier than a plain scoop, which makes it useful for occasion pieces that still need to be comfortable. Like the halter, it is unforgiving on fit.
Crossover or cross neck. One front panel crosses over the other, either stitched down or tied at the side. It is the simpler cousin of the traditional angrakha, and it appeals to buyers who want something with shape without anything elaborate.
Spaghetti strap. Thin shoulder straps, essentially a sleeveless kurti or tunic. Strongest in summer, in resort and casual wear, and usually styled with a shrug or jacket over it. This one is regional. It moves well in metros and online, and far more slowly in smaller towns, so read your own market before buying depth in it.
A word of caution on all five. They sell, but they sell to a specific customer. Buy them as a considered addition to a range rather than as a replacement for the classics that pay your rent.
Keyhole neck. A closed neckline with a small opening below, finished with a tie or a button. It adds interest without exposure, which is why it works across a very wide range of customers.
Angrakha. The overlapping front panel tied at the side, taken from traditional tailoring. It carries a distinctly Indian character and photographs beautifully, which keeps it in demand for festive ranges and party wear kurtis.
High neck. Closed and raised, good for winter and layering. It also gives embroidery a large uninterrupted surface, which is why it turns up so often in designer kurtis and tunics.
Front necks get all the attention. Back necks are what customers actually notice on each other, and they get searched for almost as often. A tie-up cord, a keyhole opening, a tassel drop or a panel of work can turn a plain kurti into a festive one without touching the front at all.
There is a commercial reason to care about this. Adding work to the back is usually cheaper than reworking the front, because the front is often already carrying a print or a placement design. On embroidered kurtis, a worked back neck is one of the cheapest ways to lift the perceived value of a garment. The limit is comfort. Deep backs and heavy tassels look striking on a hanger and come back as returns if they scratch or gape in wear.
For daily wear, comfort decides everything, and round, V and mandarin collars cover most of it. For office, structure beats decoration, so collars, square necks and shallow V-necks are the safe picks. For festive occasions the neckline is the design, which is where keyhole, angrakha, high neck and worked backs earn their keep. For a younger, fusion-leaning customer, halter, broad and sweetheart necks are now genuinely worth stocking.
On body type, a V or a notch tends to elongate, while wide and boat necks broaden the shoulder line. Those are tendencies, not rules. Customers usually know what suits them better than any chart does.
The neckline causes more returns than almost any other detail. A neck that gapes, sits too tight, or has a badly finished facing will come back no matter how good the fabric is. When you check a sample, turn it inside out and look at the finishing, not just the front.
Neck variation is also the cheapest way to widen a range. The same fabric and the same base pattern in three necklines gives you three products for very little extra cost. That is worth remembering when you want a full-looking rack without tying up capital in fabric.
And be honest about depth. Round, V and collar necks will carry you through the year. Statement and trend-led necks sell in bursts, so buy them for a season rather than for the shelf.
If you are building a range from scratch, our guide to the types of kurtis covers the wider categories and the cotton kurtis guide deals with fabric. For order planning, see the wholesale buying guide. Retailers who want these designs under their own label can look at starting your own kurti brand.
Snehal Creation Inc has been manufacturing women’s ethnic wear in Mumbai since 2003, supplying retailers across India with kurtis, tunics and tops in a wide range of neck designs, at wholesale rates that leave room for a healthy margin.
WhatsApp: +91 97695 39989
Website: www.snehalcreation.com
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बेहतर कुर्तियाँ, बेहतर बिज़नेस, बेहतर भविष्य।
