Move over politically correct kurtas and bundis. Step it up with a line of indigenous footwear.
Yuva Khadi - a company co-founded by Jamshedpur-bred entrepreneurs Gaurav Kumar (31), Piyush Priya Dershi (32) and Amit Rahul (34) - is all set to launch comfortable, fun-to-wear and super stylish shoes made of the handspun yarn, in New Delhi this Sunday.
The three friends, who completed their schooling from the steel city, had walked an extra mile to establish their start-up in 2009. After lending khadi sartorial elegance over seven years, Yuva Khadi is now busy making forays into footwear and accessories. The company engages 60 weavers from Murshidabad, Bengal, who weave the yarn before it is processed and designed. Yuva Khadi is aiming for a pan-India presence soon.
"My grandfather, late R.K. Roy, was a freedom fighter and we grew up amid the khadi culture. Fashion designers these days use a lot of indigenous yarns, but these are restricted to apparel. Many people have a fetish for shoes and khadi can do wonders there," said Gaurav, an alumnus of Rajendra Vidyalaya, Sakchi, and a postgraduate in public relations and corporate communication from Amity University.
According to Gaurav, they were toying with the idea to introduce a line of footwear for quite sometime. "Khadi is both comfortable and environment-friendly. It is locally available and can generate employment," he said, adding that they were mulling a manufacturing unit in Jharkhand too.
Amit, also an RV alumnus, completed his PhD in sociology from Jawaharlal Nehru University while Piyush did his schooling from Baridih High School and is a product of National Institute of Fashion Technology. Amit is an expert in consumer behaviour while Piyush is in charge of product R&D.
Piyush has worked with renowned designers from the industry like Ritu Beri, J.J. Valaya and Ritu Kumar and was part of famous retail brands like Woodlands, Parx, Adidas and Vanheusen. Speaking to this correspondent over phone from Delhi on Wednesday, he said that right now, they had a production volume of 5,000 in 25 designs for men and women. The pocket pinch is between Rs 1,800 and Rs 4,000.
"The idea is to market products that are very Indian with 80 per cent khadi base. We are also launching belts and wallets, but these would have a leather base," Piyush said.
Gaurav, also one of the directors of the company, said their shoe manufacturing unit was currently based in Naraina in Delhi. "Since we spent our childhood in Jharkhand, we want to work with people here. I had planned to meet the chief minister, but the meeting didn't happen. I am flying back now, but will return later for talks on the matter," he added.
