Gaurav Goenka had our attention when he said that he was in the business of creating the ‘perfect-fit tee’! Right from fit to design, his brand Hungover takes the promise of a bespoke T-shirt for men very seriously. Only those with imperfect requirements — who have hunted down aisles in multi-brand clothes stores struggling to get that tee with the right length, width, neckline and also quality material and finish to boot — will understand our excitement. “The difference between us and other brands that offer made-to-order or custom fit tees, is that we do not have pre-designed fits. We make the T-shirts per-customer per-fit!” says Gaurav, who heads the company and founded Hungover about eight years ago with his brother Anurag Goenka. The brand began as an off-the-rack label that was available on all the main online retail platforms.
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The pandemic didn’t really have a negative impact on their business, says Gaurav, who resurrected the brand with the launch of the bespoke tee concept in August last year, and further explains, “When you are in the business of fast fashion, it (a lockdown) does matter — but we’re offering classics. The basic tee is something you can step out in or just lounge at home in. The versatility of our timeless design is our winning point.” What started with about 15 customers last year has now about 600 today and what’s more, most are regulars who keep coming back!
The superior quality of material and the in-depth understanding of the bespoke fit is not really a surprise when you realise that this is their fourth generation in the garment manufacturing business. “We use soft jersey material for the round necks and V-necks, while for the collared tees, we use the piqué material,” informs Gaurav, who agrees that one of the big advantages they have is that their export business has seen them manufacturing for some of the top brands in Europe and hence, all the manufacturing processes are in-house, right from washing and printing to embroidery and finish. He further adds that their factory was the third in the country to have got the LEEDS certification and says, “We understand the importance of sustainability. We understand what green means. So, you can expect quality and manufacturing processes that tick all the boxes for top global brand requirements.”
We soon learn that the process to own a Hungover bespoke tee is fairly elaborate for the brand and extremely simple for the customer. All you need to do to get on to the programme is — sign up on their website, answer some basic questions about fit, choose your design, the colour and place your order. The Hungover team will ship a try-on sample tee to you soon, along with a customised measuring tape. You just have to try on the trial tee and give your feedback with pictures. In two weeks, you will own a perfect tee made just for you!
Why not for women too? Gaurav assures us that it’s in the pipeline, but also offers, “Our research has been extensive to understand the perfect fit for men with studies involving algorithms for body types and other factors. We will invest in similar effort and infrastructure to create a line for women too — it will just take a little while.”
What next? More products, more customisation, personalisation and maybe even prints and designs is the promise. Meanwhile, check out their upcoming summer hues that are global and exclusive.
Made to order tees. Contact: +91 91760 16000.
V-necks and round necks at INR 1,500. Polo tees at INR 2,800.
At www.hungover.in