Celebrating craft in all its forms

When the Mumbai store of Moonray, a four-year-old ready-to-wear label started by Karishma Swali and her daughter, Avantika, shut down a few months ago, it seemed like it would cease to exist. But last week, the same address in the cultural district of Kala Ghoda opened the doors to Chorus, a brand by the mother-daughter duo that expands the Moonray universe to include ready-to-wear, couture, skincare, and a café with craft at the centre.

- Pooja Singh

Karishma, the force behind Chanakya School of Craft—the embroidery house that works with international brands like Dior and Fendi (and where Chorus is also crafted)—says, “There’s no gap in the market that we are trying to fill. It's my 30th year with Chanakya, and the School has completed 40 years, so we began to feel that we needed to represent craft at a larger scale.” They started working on Chorus two years ago with a design collective that includes designers Tina and Nikita Sutradhar, artist-designer Joohi Mehta, embroidery specialist Renu Sahu, and 13th-generation master artisans.

A walk across the store, filled with baskets shaped like bronze vessels, cactus leather shoes, candle stands that flip over into martini glasses, and cold-pressed soaps, reflects what the Swalis want to build: a lifestyle brand that showcases Indian craft.

As soon as you enter the 980 sq. ft ground floor space, you see a light-blue cocktail dress, the upper half heavily embellished and the lower shaped like an accordion. It is striking yet easy on the eyes, a feeling that extends throughout the collection, which includes a one-shoulder dress from leftover textile waste and an upcycled denim jacket.

In an interview with Lounge, Karishma talks about Chorus, her learnings while working with international design houses, and working towards eco-friendly solutions to fashion. Edited excerpts:

The desire to honour craft as a living practice that evolves through research, exchange and curiosity. I wanted to offer the spirit of craft in a way that it can be experienced right from a sculptural textile to a clay vase or a woven shawl. So, we have blurred the boundaries between different media and put craft at the centre. Craft is a container of our culture. It, of course, tells the stories of our past, but in many ways it teaches us about community, collective identity. Our crafts are versatile, global, modern and porous.