The Upward Curve

Karu Research is bringing Indian weaves and textiles to the new wave of menswear rising across the globe. SHRIYA ZAMINDAR finds out how its founder Kartik Kumra is breaking the code

“WHEN WE SPOKE in February last year, the brand was in its first season. We have expanded with such speed since then,” says Kartik Kumra, swivelling in the same chair in his makeshift office-cum-bedroom as months before. Just over a year since he launched his label Karu Research in the middle of the pandemic, Kumra’s quilted jackets and ephemera—which began retailing at eight stores, including Mr Porter—can be found at an impressive 22 stores worldwide. And now, the founder of pandemic-born label Karu Research is fresh off his first showcase at Paris Menswear Fashion Week, which took place in January this year. Traditionally, designers have been known to protect the sanctity of their art as opposed to responding to the market, but for Kumra, charting the growth curve was all about learning to gauge supply and demand. Kumra’s first time seeing shoppers interact with his artisanal quilted jackets and upcycled jacquard trousers at a pop-up in New York in 2022 was an eye-opener. “I watched people try on my clothes and hold them up to their chest to see how things look, or hear what they think about it. It really helped to receive that feedback,” Kumra says.