Behind the seams

Kartik Kumra

- Dipanjan Sinha

Rapper Kendrick Lamar and actor Paul Mescal have worn his oversized shirts and linen jackets on red carpets. He showed his latest collection at Paris Fashion Week in June.

His New York store opened five months ago, with a second wing set to launch soon.

It is hard to believe that Kartik Kumra is 25, and self-taught.

It's even harder to believe how he got his start: during the pandemic, while still in college.

In five years, his brand Kartik Research has gone from a soft launch out of his parents' home to a listing in Time magazine's 100 Next and a brand stocked in 70 stores worldwide, including Selfridges in London and 10 Corso Como in Milan.

How did he do it? It helps that Kumra's aesthetic is uniquely Indian, while his designs are global.

His collections focus on crafts that Indian weavers, printers and embroiderers have excelled at for centuries: chikan work, block-printing, fine wool-silk blends. But the tips of the hat to these traditions take subtle forms: tiny details embroidered onto the corners of a black linen shirt; a jacket with a near-invisible print.

There is something on every piece, Kumra says, but it's restrained. "This makes the clothes versatile. Some see cultural roots. Others just like the aesthetic, fit and drape," he says.

Kumra was raised in Delhi, by a career counsellor and a businessman. Football was his first love, he says. "If I'm being honest, I still love it more than I love fashion," he adds, laughing.

After school, he headed to the UK for further study and began a small side hustle, reselling sneakers to students. "I would source cool items over the weekend, and sell them at a markup," he says.

He was 16 at the time, but as he scoured the high street for good deals, he noticed that independent design labels were thriving.