From being co-founder of Indian wear label, Jade and recently-launched conscious brand, Moonray, to leading the way for craft organisation, Chanakya, Karishma Swali’s career in fashion is indeed an inspiring one.
While Jade focuses on Indian craftsmanship and luxury Indian couture, Moonray lays a special highlight on conscious fashion in India. Including an essence of both Indian craftsmanship and conscious fashion is the Chanakya International and Chanakya School of Craft. While the former is an embroidery house that promotes Indian crafts and artisans through collaborations with various international labels like Dior, Gucci, Valentino and many more, the latter is a non-profit institute that attempts to promote craft education amongst artisan community in India. “We founded the Chanakya School of Craft in 2017 with the same goal: to preserve our cultural craft heritage through innovation and education. At the school, we work actively with master craft artisans to contribute to design innovation while honing their incredible talent to preserve our craft heritage. Today more than ever, the fashion industry is ready for an evolution – one that is mindful, kind, transparent and digital,” says Swali.
While Indian textile crafts remain integral to both Swali’s journey in fashion as well as all her ventures, it’s really the artisan that takes prime importance according to her. “Our artisans are really the heart of textile innovations and with their inherent wisdom and unmatched skills, they continue to be the instruments that keep both our culture and contemporary fashion alive,” she says. With an insider insight of the Indian artisan space as she works with numerous women who are a part of the Chanakya institute as well as both Jade and Moonray, Swali recognises that it may be a tougher space to navigate based on your gender. “World over and for centuries, women have had to face inequality – both in ways that are subconsciously woven into our social cloth as well as more jarring ways like differential pay or less leadership opportunities. I see a dramatic shift in this mindset and my only advice would be to stay committed to your mission and your journey – you will shine through! I also believe that building a community where women support other women can go a long way to building a more inclusive world for us all,” she says.
One of Swali’s recent projects includes a collaboration between Moonray and the Jai Vakeel Foundation, which works with differently-abled and underprivileged children. Together with the children from the foundation and the artisans at Chanakya, a range of accessories including keychains and pins have been created. With every purchase, the brand donates net proceeds to the Jai Vakeel Foundation. In a statement about the collaboration, Swali said: “This collaboration brings together an aligned vision for inclusion, a world that has space for everyone in it — a world that is stronger for all. Inspired by the children of the. Each time you gift a moonchild to a loved one, you amplify the message of inclusivity.”
Mindful fashion, which includes both social and environmental sustainability is positively on the rise as per Swali, “It is so heartening that this generation in India is aware of their culture and environment and seeking to make informed decisions - we see a paradigm shift towards fashion choices that are homegrown and harness creativity, culture, and community. While millennials care about a brand's purpose and their approach to the future of our planet, all age groups today are more mindful of their choices and their impact on our planet- a wonderful tomorrow awaits us all if we all do our part! Conscious fashion should not be the exception but the norm.”