How outerwear brand Happiness Within is changing the way you pack for your travels

Whether it’s cold or wet outside, stylist Akshay Tyagi and service designer Harry Olson have got your back with reversible and water-resistant outerwear from their label Happiness Within

One of the most important pieces of clothing to pack for your travels is a jacket. Depending on the weather you’re going to be experiencing—pleasant or chilly—a denim or a puffer jacket usually ticks two requirements: keeping us warm while we take in the city, and looking chic while being a tourist. “But what about those in-between weather conditions we are never prepared for, such as the rainy months in India, or that icky wet spell in London?” asks stylist and costume designer Akshay Tyagi. In the quest to find the answer to his own question, Tyagi teamed up with his long-time friend Harry Olson, founder of HAO—a Canadian brand and a service design studio—to create a brand that taps into the niche segment of travel-friendly outerwear.

The first collection plays with the concept of fully-reversible, water-resistant handmade-in-India products, including jackets, bags and hats, designed to change the way we experience dreary weather while travelling. We speak to the duo about the inception of their collaborative brand Happiness Within, the trials and tribulations of creating a reversible range of products and why the brand is a reminder for you to take charge of your own joy.

How did this collaboration between a stylist in India and a service designer in Canada come about?

Akshay Tyagi: Harry and I have been friends for almost 20 years —both of us studied at Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) in Canada. Our first collaboration was for an exhibition of wearable art I was curating, the poster of which was made by Harry. We did another project together—a performance show I had worked on, with Harry providing the most amazing collaterals, from identity to tickets to posters. We ended up winning a commission for this project and realised that we made a great team. I am technologically inept, but ideating and curating are my strengths. Harry, on the other hand, has the most genius communication design strategy ideas and his work has always been meaningful to me. So when we ended up deciding on this business collaboration, we knew we were in it for the long haul.

Harry Olson: We always bumped into each other in the hallways of NSCAD and were curious about our respective disciplines and where they intersect. The wearable art show was the first project we collaborated on, which, in hindsight, is a prime example of where we are today: clothing as expression and a literal form of wearable art. Our individual talents and skill sets made us strong collaborators.

The name of the brand exudes a dose of positivity. How did the idea behind the name come about?

Akshay Tyagi: It was during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic that Harry and I decided to catch up over a call and we both wanted to build something together. I don’t think we named the brand until a few months into product development, where I was keen to make a reversible range of lifestyle accessories that would invoke joy. Having worked for over 14 years in the fashion industry, I knew the name had to have a ring to it. The name ‘Happiness Within’ makes a strong statement—that you are in charge of your own joy, and our brand merely serves as a reminder that you can do it.

Harry Olson: This catch-up call (that Akshay speaks of) sparked a lot of ideas on building a product together and combining our strengths of branding and design into a single product. We started with product development first (with the signature jacket), as we had a clear idea on the story and the feeling it would evoke. While the name had to tell a story and bring life into Akshay’s design, it also had to leave room for a growing product range in the future. ‘Happiness Within’ came up in our conversations as the jacket provided the story of the journey of the outside world and inner world, between self and product.

It’s not often that you find brands that specifically focus on making reversible products. What made you steer in this direction?

Akshay Tyagi: I have always liked the functionality and longevity of a good product. I am a trained textile and fashion designer, but I am known widely for my styling and costume design work. As a stylist, I felt the need to have something that is not only practical but also joyous to have around. With much difficulty, we managed to get the product range to be fully reversible, after nine months of constant testing and sampling.

The idea of reversibility is dependent on our mood. On some days you’d want a plain, no-nonsense black bag, but on other days you might be cheery and you can switch it up easily with a brighter colour. I feel there’s a market for products with a good story, good finishing and good price points.

Harry Olson: The idea behind reversible products was to add value and be the differentiators in the outerwear market. It started with the duality of the outside and inside worlds, grew into the possibility of ‘what if?’ and then moved towards ‘we’ve never seen this before!’ Akshay’s experience in fashion and textile design played a major role in bringing this to life.

In India, there aren’t many homegrown labels that cater to outerwear. What made you venture into this niche category?

Akshay Tyagi: I used to swear by this Uniqlo x Lemaire jacket I had—it was my constant travel companion. I guess it may have been a birth point for this idea to create one of my own go-to jackets. This was a full research-based exercise that helped us feel confident enough to create something like this. No matter where you go, unpredictable weather is inevitable. We’ve seen a few labels catering to cooler temperatures, and that forms a majority of the outerwear market. But we are never prepared for that in-between weather, like the rainy months in India, or spring time in the West, or that icky wet spell in London. I felt it would be great to have offerings that are all-weather friendly but most useful during that gloomy period where no one really knows what to wear.

Harry Olson: We did a competitive analysis across the market and noticed that outerwear was primarily adventure- and athlete-driven. We didn’t see it from a purpose-driven perspective. Keeping in mind global events and the current weather conditions, we wanted to create something uplifting and different—outwear for inner peace, as Akshay brilliantly coined.

The concept of reversibility leads towards conversations about sustainability. But of late, the word ‘sustainable’ is thrown around quite vaguely in the fashion industry. What does sustainability mean to you and how do you adapt it in your creative process?

Harry Olson: When starting Happiness Within, sustainability was at the top of our minds. I agree that the fashion industry throws this term loosely without definition. We want to build on timelessness by designing good products. Limited edition pieces and small batch productions not only serve as proof of the concept of sustainability, but it also serves as a means to give life to a select few, high quality products.

Akshay Tyagi: I knew that as a maiden launch, a small batch of limited- edition range of products was going to have to serve as a proof of our concept. We wanted to offer an all-weather-friendly adaptability, and sadly that is currently  mostly effective with polyester-based fabrics. We also did not want a price point that was on the higher end of the spectrum. Hence we had to choose to use smaller quantities of virgin polyester fabrics, as we were unable to utilise a full quantity of industrial-level amounts of recycled polyester and other alternatives. Hence, we promote the longevity aspect of sustainability and emphasise on the idea of ‘wear, repeat and share.’

What kind of challenges did you have to power through when creating an outerwear range?

Akshat Tyagi: The number of times we sampled and checked for the user-friendly and water-friendly nature of our products—we spent three months on that alone! We also had to figure the right fit when it came to creating an ungendered garment that would work on as many body types in a general size range as possible. We offer only two size ranges for now, but we aim to expand that to a broader market and aim to be size inclusive by adding petite and larger sizes.

Harry Olson: One of the challenges in product testing in the physical and digital world is that it takes more time than estimated. Working in a changing environment has been one of the biggest challenges and learnings through this process.

What’s next in store for the brand?

Akshay Tyagi: This is the first module of our grand launch as we see it. We aim to keep this an evolving lifestyle brand with the help of good quality products and build a community of creative collaboratives. In the future, we hope to venture into diverse markets, both globally and digitally, like kidswear and pet wear. For now, we are celebrating the response we’ve received from our consumers with the launch of our website and products.

Harry Olson: We are excited to build on and grow our limited-edition collections. Expanding into other markets is the next goal, and so is collaborating with artists around the world for future collections. We’ve come a long way, but our journey has only just begun.

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