5 homegrown labels creating streetwear using local craft techniques

These brands are finding ways to create streetwear that factors in local textiles, techniques, embroidery and, most importantly, the work of artisans

When the sneaker culture came roaring through India sometime during  the mid-2010s, it had a passenger in its sidecar. Though streetwear technically predates sneaker culture, with origins that link closely to hip-hop culture in America in the late 1970s-early ’80s, over time, the two have been thought of as synonymous by the less discerning observer. The subcultures seemingly permeated Indian fashion at about the same time, with both visibly booming in sales around 2015-2016. But street style in India actually began with T-shirt brands making tees with slogans, like the now-defunct Tantra. Or the oversized clothing brand FUBU, which was one of the most popular imports—largely carried back by one’s relatives who travelled abroad—through the early 2000s for the Indian streetwear enthusiast. 

Over the years, the streetwear segment has grown—up to ₹ 5.3 lakh crore in India in 2023 (and US$185 billion globally), as a Deloitte study reveals, and the number of homegrown labels creating it has galloped. But while most streetwear brands tend to cater to the very specific social media-fed aesthetic that its millennial and Gen-Z audiences are seeking, some brands are heading in a different direction. They aren’t simply creating great but classic streetwear in India; they’re working India into their streetwear. Whether it involves working closely with karigars, using traditional techniques, employing only Indian fabrics and textiles, or doing all of the above while managing to carve out a niche, Indian street aesthetic, these five brands have successfully merged the two ideas.

Nor Black Nor White

As its name roundaboutedly indicates, colour is at the heart of this streetwear label. Founders Amrit Kumar and Mriga Kapadiya’s refreshing take on streetwear leans into vivid hues and unabashed prints, always with Indian craft at the wheel. “It was part of our personal style,” share Kumar and Kapadiya. “It became woven organically into the brand because it was the aesthetic we grew up with. It just came naturally [to us] to bring Indian techniques to the silhouettes we love to wear.” The brand’s juicy hues that pop, easy-fit co-ords, oversize dresses and layered looks have often been married with Indian prints, more specifically “bandhani, Ikat, embroideries of all kinds and block-printing,” they mention. The colour palates are quintessentially Indian, but the roots of a new collection vary. “For us, a collection starts either with colours or with techniques that we’re keen on exploring—or already inspired by. Though, sometimes, it starts with the silhouettes, which will spark ideas on the local textiles we want to work with. It’s a non-linear process for us and keeps it fresh every single time.”

No Grey Area

The boxy silhouettes, relaxed lapelled jumpsuits and patchwork clothing from No Grey Area (NGA) manage to be audacious in a quiet way, a rare feat for streetwear. And the Indian influence is deep in its bones. “I strongly feel that global impressions of Indian dressing up until now have been selectively informed by weddings, palaces, festivals and royalty—overlooking the culturally-evolved everyday Indian experience,” says Arnav Malhotra, the label’s founder and creative director. “We’re trying to address this and adapt techniques, prints and various silhouettes such as the saree, kalidar kurta and dhoti for today’s global market and modern lifestyle while holding on to their traditional value.” For NGA, conceptualisation always starts “a stimulating discussion on ancient Indian concepts within the team. That’s the kick-off point, which we build on with the design elements, fabrics and a modern interpretation of the concept.” Observing their collections from over the years, one finds the use of distinctly Indian motifs, colours and prints, some of which seem signatures, like the ‘third eye’.

“We have core branded motifs such as the mystical third eye and the kolam. In Tamil culture, the ‘kolam’ is the threshold of great significance as it is the meeting point of the internal and external forces of a home. With our Spring/Summer 23 collection called ‘Pravah’, we also highlight ancient Indian practices that reflect the equilibrium and the flow of energy achieved through bodily expressions, such as symbolic hand gestures called mudras. The collection uses indigo and saffron with traditional hand-embroidery and handloom techniques.” Yohji Yamamoto is singled out as a source of inspiration, seeing a notable global brand go deep into Japanese textiles and techniques.

VegNonVeg

The OGs of the specialty sneaker game in India, VegNonVeg (VNV) launched their apparel brand in 2018, and the ardent streetwear buyers of the country have welcomed it into the fold. It seems an organic enough foray for a brand that can be partially credited with heralding the sneaker culture into India. VNVs vintage tees, oversized hoodies and cargo shorts align with the brand’s classic street energy. But what stands out is their involvement in using Indian textiles. “We like to reflect some of our Indian DNA in our apparel—this can be through a technique or a colour or just observation,” say Emilia Bergmans, co-founder and creative Director and Shubhankar Mehrotra, lead Designer at VegNonVeg. “We’re lucky India has so much to choose from, and we experiment by marrying these features with contemporary streetwear silhouettes. At the moment, we’re into prints on patterns and colours as they reflect the beautiful chaos we surround ourselves with.”

The design process at VNV can be ignited by anything from an object, craft, visual or graphic to vintage textiles, materials or a concept, but it's usually a desire to work with local craft that brings it together. “The previous year, we worked with local block-printing artisans and Mr. Sufiyan Khatri, a world-renowned Ajrakh craftsperson for our summer and winter collections,” says Bergmans. “The former featured a range of clothes made using unprocessed greige fabric paired with block-printing and embroidery, while the latter involved the master craftsmen of Bhuj printing a custom camouflage design we made—a streetwear staple—incorporating traditional printing and resist-dyeing methods used in Ajrakh. Our Campout jackets are made from blankets people wear during the winters in Delhi. Every year, we hand-pick the blankets and make them into one-of-a-kind pieces.” 

Kardo

Though the Delhi-based brand doesn’t refer to itself as being only or primarily streetwear, there are enough pieces in each collection to make it qualify as such. There is a clear street streak in its pop-hued knit co-ords, open-weave jackets, upcycled button-downs and printed shirts—one that often finds influences in the oversized silhouettes and breezy textures that define the genre. One thing Kardo doesn’t contest is its lean into South Asian and Indian textiles to create those silhouettes. The slow-fashion menswear pret label is premised on detailed, appreciative practices that work with karigars and the handloom community of India. Over the course of their edits, you’ll find the use of traditional weaving, dying and printing techniques; on fabrics like natural dyed handloom, block-printing, Ikat, natural indigo denim, shibori and chikankari embroidery. The clothes are refreshing and have an easy-street aesthetic that is neither diluted nor held so steadfast that it doesn’t allow the Indian textiles and techniques their place in the sun. A lovely bonus? Each piece is hand-stitched by a single tailor who is  credited on the label as well.

Farak

Scroll through Farak’s Instagram and the coalescence of Indian craft and street silhouettes is instantly apparent. The audacious prints and distressed textures of the brand’s offerings extend to everything from boxy tees and classic hoodies to unstructured suits and co-ords. “The fact that 1000-year-old techniques still exist in our country, but are slowly dying, made me feel like doing something about it,” says founder Rishabh Kumar. “I wanted to make traditional craftsmanship relevant for today’s generation.” 

Kumar, too, looks at Japan as an exemplar of the merging of local craft and the streetwear aesthetic. “Hiroshi Fujiwara and Nigo shaped Japanese streetwear with the amalgamation of culture and fashion, putting it on the world map. I believe Indian artisanship has the same potential and can really create its own niche. The brand has worked with various Indian textiles, materials and techniques, which include organic dyes, wooden-block hand-printing, hand-embroidery, kantha embroidery, traditional-loom handwoven fabrics, warp-printing, and a special yak wool from Kashmir. The upcoming collection will feature an indigo innovation, “essentially, a new kind of handwoven textile that is made with indigo-dyed fabric, as well as the bagru (block) print which is indigenous to the Chippa community in Rajasthan. My goal is to introduce a new traditional technique in every collection from all over India—I’ve only just scratched the surface.”

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