OUR STORY

E T H I C A L L Y M A D E C L O T H I N G.

‘‘FASHION HAS POWER, THE POWER TO CHANGE LIVES.’’

Radical is a Kolkata based ethnic contemporary prêt women’s wear brand. Using ancient embroidery, dye techniques and signature prints, we mould hand spun fabrics into modern silhouettes. Our garments are a beautiful combination of India’s rich cultural heritage set against modern times.

At Radical, we make a conscious endeavour to keep our craft alive. The purpose is to reinvent and revive kantha and other age old art techniques to make them desirable and relevant for the present generation. We have been engaged with local Bengal ‘karigars’ for this, and are attempting to save the art and the artisan.

Bengal, in the east of India, is brimming with skilled artisans practicing ancient hand embroidery, print and dye techniques such as patachitra, kalamkari and kantha.

There are approximately 4 lakh workers spread across rural villages who practice this art, but they are unable to enjoy a respectable living commensurate to their skill. Many of them also turn to different fields of menial jobs and relocate to other states away from their homes to provide for their families.

We employ them, and provide them a platform to come together and show their work, for the world to see, by combining their art with cutting edge technology, to produce and market their creations at scale. Our attempt and resolve to use these techniques and styling them, making it appealing for the modern fashionable woman, is one of our greatest strengths.

We also empower uneducated women by teaching them vocational crafts which they do part time within our factory, helping them gain confidence and earn a living, in ethical, comfortable work conditions.

O U R G A R M E N T S A R E R E S P E C T F U L L Y & R E S P O N S I B L Y M A D E.

Sustainable business practices for fashion houses involve preserving the DNA of the brand and maintaining value propositions for the customers by not resorting to cheaper and inferior modes of production in a bid to aim for higher margins. In a mechanized world, where speed kills integrity, our pieces will not only become a modern heirloom, but will certainly go into the archives of Indian textile history.

Conscious, zero waste, slow fashion, reinventing craft, wearable art, food for skin- are some of the values we live by.