After their maiden showcase at the Paris Fashion Week featuring their latest collection, Warp & Weft, KH House of Khaddar (KHHK) — Kamal Haasan’s foray into fashion — finally brings the celebrated collection to stores across India, the US, and online. The new collection focuses on a newly invented fabric — Khaddar Denim — that spins denim cotton with homespun khadi, a brand new fabric invented by KHHK.
This comes less than a year after their debut collection, Nunool, travelled across USA and India after being showcased in Chicago in November 2021. “The new collection, Warp & Weft, is a collection of sporty clothing with quite a few juxtapositions — conservative yet playful, subversive yet sensual, hard but also soft. It is a collection that celebrates the return to a Y2K aesthetic. It comes with a change of perspective, reflecting on the post-pandemic triumph of human connection,” says Amritha Ram, designer and creative director, KH House of Khaddar, who has designed for a few films in Kollywood in the past.
Chicago to Chennai
“I first began working for films when I got the opportunity to work with director Mysskin (Shanmugha Raja) for his film Mugamoodi in 2012. This led to me also working for the promotions of Vishwaroopam in 2013 and that’s how I met Kamal Haasan. I was then roped into his team for Bigg Boss and there has been no turning back since,” enthuses Amritha, who was a TV host in the past.
What began as a project eventually led to the establishing of the label KH House of Khaddar (KHHK) in 2021. Amritha, who had already done the ground work in the US, was convinced that khadi or khaddar (as the brand likes to call the fabric) had a great future globally as it was eco-friendly and ethical in more ways than one. “Kamal was onboard from the very beginning. He was the actual inspiration. He always spoke to me of dandelion rubber, vegan leather, fabrics made from fungi and the like. He was always in a constant search for more eco-friendly fabrics. It’s something that meant a lot to him and he is someone who is driven by a constant pursuit of knowledge and learning. And then, I came across some weavers who were willing to experiment with khadi and finally, we were able to create something like Khaddar Denim,” adds the designer who graduated in design from the Fashion Institute of Technology, New York.
Amritha then presented the possibility of this fusion fabric to Kamal Haasan and he was very excited. “He regaled me with tales of his father, a lawyer, choosing to wear khadi to court proceedings, at a time when khadi formals were unheard of. I was also pretty convinced, by then, that we could do exciting things with khadi and that there would be a market for it, outside India too and that’s how the label began and we launched it mid-lockdown with a show in Chicago,” says Amritha who has also worked on Vetrimaaran’s Vada Chennai and is now working on Indian 2.
The khaddar story
The label’s launch was welcomed across the country and several celebs including Taapsee Pannu were quick to wear the label in support. “We find inspiration in those who chase their dreams with courage and conviction, in those who define their own path, and in those with an unstoppable zest for life. Every one of us is the author of our own story — how you tell it is up to you and this is how Kamal Haasan’s House of Khaddar chooses to tell the story of khaddar to the world. The last collection was just about the fabric; Nunool is a Tamil word, which means good yarn. We just wanted to focus on the fabric and didn’t want to do anything to disturb the texture. We focused on fall-winter colours — root beer, olives, salmon pink, a lighter teal blue. We had classic cuts, including trench dresses, jackets and three-piece ensembles that could take on the cold Chicago weather. With this collection, however, we wanted to appeal to a more summery side of things and therefore, we’ve gone young, sporty and trendy,” explains Amritha, who is married to choreographer Ramji and co-manages work for his dance schools.
Sourcing their fabric, Khaddar Denim, from all across the country, KHHK’s Warp & Weft comprises versatile pieces like miniskirts, bralettes, co-ord sets, dresses, blazers and trousers that even work well as separates. One of the signature styles this season is the varsity jacket, also called the Letterman jacket — that will focus on the brand letters KH/KHHK instead of the names of universities and colleges. The varsity style dates as far back as the 1930s and the patches-emblazoned jacket traditionally symbolised the initials of the school or establishment that the wearer swore fealty to.
“We really wanted to move far away from what we’d already done and Khaddar Denim seemed the way to go. With 80 per cent khadi and 20 per cent denim, it’s a handwoven; zero carbon waste fabric that uses very little water, but takes eight weeks to make. We were looking for a colour palette that pops and so going far away from the pantone palette of our first collection, we explored joy and optimism in a palette that pops — fuchsia for activism and neon green for strength are bolstered by yellow for happiness and orange for reminiscence,” the designer further explains.
With a few capsule collections in between, where the label experimented with prints, like at a recent showcase at Las Vegas, USA; the brand has also been experimenting with block printing and their experiments might show up in future collections.
Next up, Amritha wants to focus on an all-khadi festive edit, something that people don’t usually expect from khadi brands. The brand has also been invited to the upcoming New York Fashion Week in October.
“People are surprised that we’re able to keep our clothes handloom, organic and fair trade and still manage to keep the prices affordable. But that was the whole idea. We wanted people to understand that great eco-friendly clothes can be affordable too and that’s what drives KHHK, the idea to become the change we want,” Amritha concludes.
INR 3,000 onwards. Available online.
romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal