Kanika Jain is the founder and creative director of the brand Kanelle. Kanelle is a New Delhi fashion house which was launched in 2011. The brand presents easy-to-wear womenswear where every collection has a story behind it.
The name Kanelle is a combination of ‘Kanika’ and ‘Elle’ which represents ‘Kanika’s creations for her’.
The founder believes that “fashion should not be restricted to a certain category of women.” This is why Kanelle designs transitional styles which can be interpreted differently.
Kanika is a self-taught designer, she learned everything about the craft and trade while developing the brand.
Her love for fashion sparked from a young age. “I used to see my mother creating outfits for me to wear when I was a child. I was also very intrigued by the beautiful pieces of textiles she owned.”
Kanelle has a small team which consists of pattern makers, tailors, embroiders, printmakers, weavers and others. “We repeatedly work with our craftspeople from various parts of India to come up with new textiles. Our team is our true strength that inspires and educates us with every collection we work on.”
While working on the new collection, the team begins by looking for the inspiration and then work on mood boards where they add more refined details. “Our latest collection was inspired by the blossoming of young love while on a journey. It’s feminine and romantic.”
Sustainability is at the core of the brand. The garments are created with the handcrafted indigenous textiles.
“Since sustainability is multi-layered, we as a brand try and take small steps to contribute and become as sustainable as we can. This starts from following fair business practises to producing mindfully to create as less waste as we can.”
Kanika also mentioned that the brand recycles leftover materials and even upcycle some of the old stocks to recreate a brand new look. “This helps us to re-use what we already have and gives our customers new designs with minimal to no waste.”
Kanika believes that every brand should create ethically and make even the smallest changes for important issues like sustainability.