Day dresses, white denims, clever use of zari and pastel shades – these are the high points of the label created by Calcutta designer Kavya Singh Kundu. The graduate from National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) launched her fashion line Kavya Singh Kundu in October 2020 when the pandemic was at its peak. What made her venture stand out was not only its environment-friendly raw materials but also the fact that she hired many who are underprivileged or had lost their jobs.

“I have hired a high school student as my apprentice too. He needed the job to carry on his education. Besides he is getting some skill training in the bargain,” says the designer who had enrolled at several crash fashion courses since her school days before getting through NIFT in Delhi.

“It was not easy to start a venture when a pandemic was raging on and businesses were closing shop. But I came from a business family and was ready to take the risk. I had experience working in export houses and for high-street brands that sell off online platforms, before I started my own line. Thanks to all the on-job experience I knew what to expect from the market,” says Singh Kundu.

Designer Kavya Singh Kundu Sourced by the correspondent

A fan of high street brands like Zara and Mango, Singh Kundu describes her range as fast fashion using slow fashion processes.

“Sustainable fashion may be trending now but such clothes are often considered boring or unaffordable. Again there are many conscious buyers who cannot afford sustainable outfits. I wanted to make my sustainable luxury brand a little more affordable and give my buyers elevated classics that they can wear every season,” says the designer who loves to work with whites, pastel shades and also orange and bamboo fibre.

White denims are her favourites as also organza day dresses. According to her 80 per cent of her collection use handwoven fabrics while 20 per cent use mill-made ones. “I use organic fibre for the mill-made products to make the pricing come down. My target group is young professionals who want to collect some all-time wearables for their wardrobes,” says Singh Kundu, whose products start at Rs 4,500. Her collection can be purchased from her website.

The designer has turned her grandparents’ old house into her studio and production unit. “It is an old, high-ceiling house with mosaic floors and lots of old wooden furniture. The old cupboards, writing desk and ‘alna’ act as a source of inspiration for me to come out with timeless ranges in organza, pastels, olives and navy blues. I often add subtle zari trimmings to my clothes and my sequined products are environment-friendly too with no micro-plastic in them. I hope to work much more with faux leather in future keeping my target group in mind,” says Singh Kundu.