Homegrown Brands We're Going To For All Our Denim Needs

We all know that denimwear is its own category, and while denimwear brands are always out there pushing the boundaries of what you can do with the weave (repeat after me for the hundredth time, denim material is made from a specific weaving technique). But that doesn't mean you can't go looking elsewhere. Many Indian designers and homegrown brands, at some point, have looked into denim, and explored what it is to incorporate the weave into their design language. Here are some of our picks, with pieces that would head to our pinterest boards and shopping wishlists.

Imagine denimwear, but with bronze patina coating over the weave. Or a jacket with one half in denim, the other in herringbone, all connected in asymmetrical patches (pictured above). Yep, that’s the kind of work you can expect from Sushant Abrol’s utilitarian menswear label, Countrymade.

Akash Sinha and Rabia Singh's October Jaipur has that rustic Indian touch in everything they do. Their designs are unmistably desi, but also minimalist (oxymorons, yeah, but they make it work). Case in point: the Bejoy Kurta set, finished with a denim-wash effect, or the Jalore Bell denim, detailed with leather patchwork inspired by Jaipur's traditional embroidery designs.

Founded by Netaji Venkateshan, Janaki Raman Venkateshan and Suryaprakash, Sagacity is mainly an anime merch studio, but the kind that doesn't slap manga panels on a t-shirt and call it a day, and what a godsend it is. With many of their designs, it doesn't even register as merch until you're deeply into a fandom. Even if you're not into anime, their more classic designs live up to expectations just as well.

Picture straight fit jeans with sequin embroidery tracing a houndstooth pattern across the surface. Or a jacket cut from cotton denim, hand embroidered end to end as per your liking (they're heavy on customisation). Don't miss the double cuff with the soft flower designs (above). This is Prakhar Chauhan's PRKHR: easy-going by day, glam whenever the occasion calls for it.

Then there's Toffle, run by Kashish Gemini and Brij Kishore Mishra, which loves its absurdism: jeans carrying Renaissance prints (all washed baby pink, by the way) on one pair, handpainted graffiti on another, and Amar Chitra Katha panels on a third. Or one pair of jeans that is actually made from cutouts of five others.

At Biskit, every piece on the website is limited to 21 units as a push for sustainability. Founders Shruti and Harsha Biswajit are self-confessed space nerds, and their design language adds layers of raver energy and art references to their avante-gard space exploration concept.

Shirin Salwan's Saphed is famously a brand built around khadi, and they leave no stone unturned to realise the full extent of the fabric. Take this set, for example, where kantha patches are sewn onto panels of denim-weaved khadi.