THE JOURNAL
MR PORTER Brand Designer Mr Nawal Gurung wearing Kartik Research
At MR PORTER, we work hand in hand with the world’s best luxury brands to bring you the finest exclusives, the best of their collections and the most sought-after collaborations that one could ask for. But we also take pride in finding talented people with great ideas that deserve bigger audiences. Which is why this year we’ve launched The Vanguard, a new incubator and accelerator programme for the next generation of menswear talent.
The future of fashion – and its impact on the planet – is intrinsically connected to the upcoming designers who are just gaining a foothold in the industry. So, supporting them while they build solid foundations for a sustainable business – both financially and environmentally – is a cause we hold close to our heart.
This year, The Vanguard, which first launched on NET‑A‑PORTER back in 2018, will offer financial and business support and dedicated mentoring to New Delhi-based menswear label Kartik Research, as well as womenswear brands Diotima and Liberowe. Our team of influential mentors includes the Ad Interim CEO and President of YOOX NET‑A‑PORTER, Ms Alison Loehnis, The Elder Statesman’s founder and CEO Mr Greg Chait, Harper’s Bazaar’s executive digital director Ms Lynette Nylander, stylist and creative consultant Ms Julie Ragolia, Textile Exchange’s CEO Ms Claire Bergkamp and the journalist and climate advocate Ms Sophia Li.
“Supporting talent is at the forefront of what we do and helping nascent brands develop and grow is at the heart of The Vanguard’s mission,” Loehnis says. “It is incredibly rewarding to offer designers the reach and scale that our platform provides and to introduce our global customer base to exciting collections they might not otherwise discover – true fashion symbiosis.”
Watch this space as we support the designers through crucial stages of their brands’ development – find out more on Liberowe and Diotima (and how Team NET‑A‑PORTER style their latest capsules) on PORTER. And get to know Kartik Research’s founder, Mr Kartik Kumra, below.
“While I was studying in Philadelphia and got closer to fashion, it became pretty apparent that there was no luxury Indian brand out there – and nothing with a sort of thick textile language,” says Kartik Kumra, who founded Kartik Research in 2021 as he was wrapping up his economics degree during the Covid pandemic.
He describes Kartik Research as a label that has humanness at its core, focusing on heritage crafts and supporting local artisans through each collection. “Look towards a lot of fashion brands and you’ll notice a lack of humanness to it,” Kumra says. “Everything is made in Europe and it’s all made by machines. So, with Kartik Research, there is real zag in terms of textile language, texture and our ability to incorporate this hand-made element into every piece we make.”
“There’s high-level craftsmanship that only a few people can execute. We’re working with them to bring our product to life”
Having relocated to India, it didn’t take Kumra long to realise that the demand for a lot of local centuries-old crafts – bar embroidery, which was instead extremely popular thanks to the proliferation of the weddingwear industry – had fallen off the radar. So, Kartik Research picked up from where mainstream, commercial interest left off.
“There wasn’t a brand that was able to communicate this very different perspective on luxury, which is that these goods are worth what you’re paying for because it took an insane amount of time and technique to make them,” Kumra says.
Mr Kartik Kumra
The brand works with 50 to 60 independent artisans to make each collection – which are produced using only locally sourced fabrics, without the use of electricity – employing traditional techniques that include different types of embroidery, such as khanta and aari, printing and handloom weaving.
“We started upcycling one-off vintage fabrics into jackets,” Kumra says. “I had collected khanta fabrics from the late 1800s and early 1900s; a specific type called nakshi khanta that women in Bengal embroidered their life stories or day-to-day actions onto, which felt really special.”
Block printing takes centre stage in its collections, too – the brand works with traditional ajrakh printing, which uses natural dyes and employs seven or eight steps to get to the final results.
“When you see the garments in person, you can feel the level of effort that has gone into it,” Kumra says. “And that’s unachievable without the artisans. The goal is to grow with them – and that’s the coolest part of the brand to me.”
Dyes such as tree bark and pomegranate are also hand-processed, imbuing each piece with vibrant colours and cultural significance.
“What we try to emphasise with all the crafts we work with is that we’re working with the masters,” Kumra says. “Indian craft is available and is usually distributed at a lower price point. But there’s an element of high-level craftsmanship and expertise that only a few people can really execute and we’re trying to work with them to bring our product to life.”
Kartik Research’s capsule for The Vanguard – which is exclusively available to MR PORTER – is inspired by 18th-century cosmological drawings. “What I found cool about them is looking at what people thought the future would look like,” Kumra says.
Cave paintings, different scriptures and plants – perceived in a distorted, alien-like form in a dystopia – inform the capsule embroideries, found everywhere from shirts to jackets.
“I like the idea that, 30 years from now, you’ll be able to find this in a really nice curated vintage store”
“The pieces are light and perfect for any season,” says MR PORTER’s Brand Designer Mr Nawal Gurung, who took the collection for a test drive around London. “The blue jacket that I’m wearing with a tank top is great for any smart-casual occasion. But in a more formal scenario, I could easily replace the tank top with a shirt and tie. The trousers are airy and have an embroidery detail that makes such a nice finishing touch.
“Every piece feels organic, natural, and has a sense of human touch to it,” Gurung says. “They’re not pristine or machine fed. And they give the impression of being one-of-one pieces thanks to the craft techniques employed.
“When I shop, I look to brands that are committed to minimising their impact on the planet,” Gurung says. “That’s exactly what Kartik Research does with its production process on the environmental side of things. And from a social and ethical perspective, with its local communities of artisans.”
Albeit made for the modern man, the brand’s Instagram bio reads “Indian Future Vintage”. “I like the idea that one day, maybe 25 or 30 years from now, you’ll be able to find this in a really nice curated vintage store,” Kumra says.
That’s inextricably connected to the way it creates – the natural materials age gracefully. But the brand also encourages consumption of clothes that are made in a certain way. “If our collections last long enough to be second- or third-hand, we know we’re doing something right,” Kumra says.
