Meet the Label Combining Indian Heritage With Beat Music
Honing in on post-independence intellectualism and the first counter-cultural movement.
Based out of New Delhi, India, Karu Research is an artisanal menswear design studio that hones in on various cultural values across the country. Founded in 2021 by Kartik Kumra, the label aims to reflect the cultural heritage of the people it works alongside, and applies this to each of its modern and striking silhouettes.
Presenting the lookbook for its Spring/Summer 2022 collection, Karu — as it tends to be shortened to — researched two cultural movements in Delhi’s past: post-independence Indian intellectualism and the first counter-cultural movement, Beat Music.
As bands like the Velvet Underground and the Beatles took inspiration from India and a psychedelic rock scene began to cultivate across the capital. Before long these groups would travel to the Himalayas and perform at small festivals, which led to a new genr: Beat Music, a combination of Western rock guitar chords with Indian instrumental.
Honing in on the handloom fabrics and kurtas that were accompanied by the flare denim and psychedelic motifs, Karu brings together these phenomena across tailoring, embroideries and vintage fabrics.
Take a look through Karu’s SS22 lookbook above and shop the collection in the near future from various retailers, including Mini Shop Madrid and Calculus.
In other news, LVMH, Kering, Hermès, and Chanel have all suspended business in Russia.
