Karishma and Avantika Swali, Founders, Moonray
Moonray, a Gen Z brand, launched its SS22 collection, You Are Home, with a pop-up at Araku Coffee in Indiranagar, Bengaluru. The second collection from the four-month-old label is a fun and playful line inspired by board games and moonflowers. Dominated by a palette of black, cream, blue and cream, it also includes a limited edition line of hand-crafted vegan leather shoes and bags, and 22-karat gold-plated jewellery.
“Moonray is rooted in craft, compassion and conscious living,” says Mumbai-based Karishma Swali, who co-founded the brand with her 15-year-old daughter Avantika Swali last December. Karishma comes with over 25 years of involvement in crafts through her family business, Chanakya International – a luxury craft house that supplies international clothing brands such as Dior and Gucci (see box). There is a lot of intuitive knowledge in the craft. It’s inherently sustainable and carbon footprint free, and it’s worthwhile,” he continues.
Moonray’s idea is to be a catalyst for building a community with a collective conscience. “I’ve noticed a big difference in sustainable, eclectic, cruelty-free fashion, especially in India,” says Avantika, who studied at Bombay International School and designed her first T-shirt in grade three. “I wanted to help create clothing that is purposeful, carries a message, and is positive for the Earth. I believe Gen Z is very conscious of our environment and our planet, and we are that generation.” are the ones who will collectively bring about change.
Clean, Certified & Organic
Mother and daughter would also like to establish Moonray as a non-outdated brand. “We like to believe that it’s not season-centric or age-centric. It’s just focused on building community through beautiful clothing,” says Karishma. About 25% of her customers are in the 25 to 35 age group are in. Where they expected the tees from the Pret collection to underperform, the clothes are flying off the rack — the structured tailoring and good fit working for them.
Moonray Spring-Summer ’22 Collection
Are they a ‘green’ brand? “We don’t want to overdo it because in the end it’s an effort to be as clean as we can be,” she says. And, they start at the raw material level. Rain-fed organic black cotton from Kutch, forest certified viscose (by the FSC or Forest Stewardship Council), and organic jersey are worked with flat chiffons and crepes. One of her popular skirts uses an under-layer of upcycled rayon fishnet.
They source yarns that are either made from regenerated fibers or are recycled. “Our entire crochet range is done with recycled cotton yarn reused from industrial waste,” says Karishma. They’ve used macrame in their jewelry line to make bracelets, and everything is gold plated on non-virgin (upcycled) brass.
transitional and light
Denim, a fashion staple, has been used extensively in the collection, but as Karisma reiterates, they have used organic cotton and the “processes are plant-based”, making it very clean. “We use nine percent to 11 percent water to make a pair of organic denim jeans. [under 200 litres], Their Mumbai-based factories are all SA 8000 certified – an international certification that ensures that all social aspects are taken care of, be it health and safety or management systems.
With craft being their innate strength, it should come as no surprise that the collection features lots of appliqué, surface work, beading and cut-work. Karishma says, “To keep the craft relevant, and to preserve it, it needs to be available in a more contemporary handwriting for Gen Z. It needs to be lightweight and something that can be changed… between day and night. Can infect in different ways.”
Tees start from around ₹1,800 while evening pieces (made on order to size) can go up to ₹60,000. Available online only, at Moonray.in
pandemic and art
Since last 40 years, Chanakya International has been working with various craft styles across the country – like Bullion Work from Lucknow, Abla Work from Gujarat and the Kutch region, embroideries from Bengal – and some of the best international fashion houses. “We work a lot with Fendi, Christian Dior, Celine, all LVMH. [Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy] Group. There is Versace, Gucci too,” says Karisma. His latest venture is an art workbench – something he came up with while “thinking of creative ways to handle our artisans” during the pandemic. She worked with French artist Eva Jospin and Christian Dior and ventured into the home and the arts. “Together with Eva Jospin, who works with cardboard and creates enchanting ‘forests’, we hand-embroidered the forests! We created a 340 square meter panel that was part of the Christian Dior Haute Couture show last year. She also partnered with award-winning artists in India, Manu and Madhavi Parekh, who were showcasing a retrospective of their life’s work at the Christian Dior show, where Karisma curated their art with Craft.