Gen Z brand, MoonRay, just launched its SS 22 collection, You Are Home, with a pop-up at Araku Coffee in Indiranagar, Bengaluru. The second collection from the four-month-old label is a fun and playful line inspired by board games and moonflowers. Dominated by a palette of blacks, creams, blues and creams, it also includes hand-crafted vegan leather shoes and bags, and a limited edition of 22 karat gold-plated jewellery.
“MoonRay is rooted in craft, compassion and conscious living,” says Mumbai-based Karishma Swali, who co-founded the brand with her 15-year-old daughter, Avantika Swali, last December. Karishma comes with 25 years of involvement in craft through their family business, Chanakya International — a luxury craft house that supplies to international couture brands such as Dior and Gucci (see box). “There’s so much innate wisdom in craft. It’s naturally sustainable and carbon footprint free, and it’s meaningful,” she continues.
MoonRay’s idea is to be a catalyst to building a community with a collective conscience. “I’ve seen a huge gap in sustainable, eclectic, cruelty-free fashion, particularly in India,” says Avantika, who studies at Bombay International School and designed her first T-shirt in grade three. “I wanted to help create clothes that are purposeful, carry a message, and that are Earth positive. I believe Gen Z is very conscious of our environment and our planet, and we are the generation that will create change collectively.”
Clean, certified and organic
The mother and daughter would also like to position MoonRay as a non-ageist brand. “We like to believe that it’s not season-focussed or age-focussed. It’s just focussed on building community through beautiful clothing,” says Karishma. Almost 25% of their clientele is in the 25 to 35 age group. Where they expected the tees from the pret collection to do better, the dresses are flying off the racks — with structured tailoring and good fits working for them.
Are they a ‘green’ brand, then? “We don’t want to overstate that because, in the end, it’s an effort to be as clean as you can,” she says. And, they start at the raw material level. Rain harvested organic Kala cotton from Kutch, forest certified viscose (by the FSC or Forest Stewardship Council), and organic jersey is worked with flat chiffons and crepes. One of their popular skirts uses an under-layer of upcycled rayon fishnets.
They duo sources threads that are either made from regenerated fibres or are recycled. “Our whole crochet series is done with recycled cotton threads repurposed from industrial waste,” says Karishma. They have used macramé in their jewellery line to make bracelets, and everything is gold-plated on non-virgin (upcycled) brass.
Transitional and light
Denim, a fashion staple, has been used extensively in the collection, but as Karishma reiterates, they have used organic cotton and “the processes are plant-based”, which makes it a lot cleaner. “To create a pair of organic denim jeans we use nine percent to 11% of the water [under 200 litres].” Their Mumbai-based factories are all SA 8000 certified — an international certification that ensures all social aspects are taken care, be it health and safety, or management systems.
With craft being their innate strength, it is not surprising then that in this collection, a lot of appliqué, surface work, beading and cut-work feature. “To keep craft relevant, and to preserve it, it needs to be available in a more contemporary handwriting for the Gen Z. It needs to be light and something transformable… that can transition between day or night in different ways,” says Karishma.
Tees from approx ₹1,800 while evening pieces (made-to-order for size) can go up to ₹60,000. Available online only, at moonray.in
