When model-turned-entrepreneur Kimaya Singh launched her fashion label Mirchi by Kim on 15 August 2024, she was just 25. One year on, her fledgling label has carved out a niche in India’s crowded fashion landscape by marrying vintage-inspired maximalism with a commitment to slow, sustainable production.
At its core, Mirchi is a celebration of Indian craftsmanship. Each beaded bag, sequined skirt, or embroidered dress from the brand is handmade by a team of 30 artisans, many of whom spend days on a single piece. Singh emphasizes that this is not only about aesthetics but also about philosophy. “They’ve turned a gut feeling into something real,” she reflected in an anniversary note posted on Instagram.
Mirchi’s eclectic visual identity draws on Singh’s own experiences from a life lived between USA and India. It’s a combination of cultural nostalgia and cosmopolitan flair — think sequins, leopard prints, and retro silhouettes colliding with traditional embroidery techniques. By doing so, Mirchi highlights elements of Indian visual culture often overlooked by mainstream global fashion, recasting heritage craft for the Mirchi girl — a younger, international globe-trotter.
That positioning taps into two wider shifts in contemporary fashion: the revival of thrift-inspired vintage aesthetics, and growing demand for sustainability. Singh has embraced a made-to-order model that reduces waste and resists fast fashion’s allure of instantaneity. “We believe creativity should not harm the environment,” she explains in her vision statement for Mirchi. This philosophy aligns Mirchi with an emerging generation of independent homegrown labels prioritising small-scale, ethical production over mass output.
The brand’s symbolic details also resonate with its community of over 40,000 followers. The name Mirchi—Hindi for chili pepper—speaks to Singh’s personal love of spice and a broader ethos of boldness. The launch date, India’s Independence Day, now looks more like a serendipitous metaphor: Mirchi represents creative independence for its founder, economic independence for its artisans, and stylistic freedom for its wearers.
In a single year, Mirchi has established itself as more than just a fashion brand. It is a statement about how heritage can meet modernity, how style can coexist with sustainability, and how independent voices are reshaping Indian fashion from the ground up. As Singh puts it, “Mirchi is not just mine. It belongs to them, and to all of you.”
Follow Mirchi here.
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