When sisters Shivani and Suruchi launched Harkoi Studio in February 2022, there were two beliefs they held close to their hearts: sustainable fashion can be everyday wear for everyone; and it’s important that clothes take into account a range of considerations—those of the wearer, the maker, and the environment. Clothes made sustainably, according to their ethos, shouldn’t be available only to the very rich, or be purchased only for special occasions.
“We care about the fabric, we care about the dyes, we care about the people we work with. So we have a little community of our weavers, our print people... The aesthetic of the brand is fun, everyday clothes,” Suruchi says, adding that Harkoi Studio aims to produce clothes that are sustainable yet affordable. While their weavers come from different states, most of the cloth they use is organic cotton from Gujarat. “We don't negotiate on pricing. The weavers decide their pricing for the fabrics, the tailors decide their stitching costs; we don't tell them what it should be.” These decisions, Suruchi explains, came out of the desire to be ethical and ensure they were sticking by their word.
Trained at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, Suruchi’s aesthetic led her to explore geometric patterns, inspired by architecture. This set her designs apart from more traditional motifs that she saw as the norm in the Indian sustainable fashion industry. Between the two of them, the sisters manage it all—thinking up ways to attract different markets, design decisions, packaging, shipping, the website, social media, photography. “Our brand perception is that we have a big team, but it's literally the two of us,” Suruchi says.
Harkoi Studio caters to both the Indian and international markets, with most of their international buyers currently in the US. There, they’ve found, consumers are more likely to be interested in the production process, in the story behind the garment. Suruchi hopes that someday soon, the culture of buying in India too will be tempered by concerns around sustainability and mindful consumption.
Sisters Suruchi and Shivani are on a mission to make slow-fashion a part of daily wardrobes.