Now I love Fab India as much as the next person but honestly there are only that many silk and cotton shapeless kurtas and a-line dresses that one person can buy. No seriously, as you can see I love my Fab India but also want to search for more Indian brands which are slightly less obvious. Now when I say these are Indian brands, I merely mean brands based in India with Indian silhouettes since I haven’t exactly done any research into the shareholding and passports held by the owners. I have also been a little selfish about this list – the brands do not include those that only focus on wedding wear and Indian wear. Wedding wear seems to be the main stay of most Indian brands so I have picked out those that are more useful for someone like me and have more casual and edgy pieces.
Kun Gawa
The designer is a very good friend of Bidisha’s from college and I keep scrolling through her Instagram and falling in love with almost every piece. They are mostly pastel colours with a very ethereal quality about it – light, airy and summery. This yellow pleated kurta/ dress is one I have been lusting over.
The best part: most of the clothing is made with natural fabrics and hand embroidered.
Khara Kapas
I love the vibe of this store. Simple, clean and understated but absolutely beautiful clothing. I loved this pale blue kurta set and this dress.
The best part: just when I thought it couldn’t get better, I saw they sell ‘Ahimsa’ leather products. This is real leather – but made of animals who have died due to natural causes. I have mentioned my interest in being a little more ‘environmental‘ friendly when shopping and this is definitely one way to do it.
Pero
Gorgeous gorgeous details – the embroidery on their clothes is to die for. I mean I am not even sure I mean it in hyperbole. I especially loved the jackets they have on their Instagram. A curious thing I noticed is most of their clothing seems to be pink – interesting. The slightly annoying part is they seem very secretive about where to actually buy their stuff but I understand this is because of trying to protect their designs.
The best part: the embroidery is out of this world – its showcases the best of Indian craftmanship.
Buna Studio
Light, oversized and easy to wear – their clothes are categorised by collections and I enjoyed browsing the website. Also fell in love with this pink dress and this gorgeous ivory camisole top.
The best part: all their clothes are handmade locally in India in small / medium scale industries.
Olio Stories
More colourful than most of the other brands on this list – Olio has slightly abstract and geometrical designs which are my personal favourite. I love these kind of patterns which have no definite symmetry. I loved this dress.
View this post on InstagramOur dresses are made for running bare feet in flower fields 🌸
A post shared by OLIO (@the.olio.stories) on
The best part: handmade, handblock, handcut – hand everything! Also the materials mostly appear to be cotton and other natural fabrics.
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– Anisha
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