By Rooting Itself In Dharavi, Label 'Days For Clothing' Proudly Claims Its Heritage

On Ganesh Temple Road in Dharavi, tucked above a modest tool-house, hangs a small sign: Days For Clothing (DFC). Step inside, and the store opens into a brave new world. Streetwear silhouettes line the racks, each one marked with a bold neon-green tag that declares, "Made in Dharavi.”

DFC was founded in 2017 by childhood friends Rohan and Arjun, both united by an obsession with sneakers, hats, and the evolving culture of streetwear. For Rohan, who grew up in Dharavi’s Kunchikorve community, the label was about expressing identity.

His father, once a broom-maker and later an entrepreneur, modelled the values of craft and resilience that shaped Rohan’s outlook. Childhood in Dharavi taught him resourcefulness; boarding school in Panchgani expanded his worldview; and college in Pune, where he met Arjun, cemented his entrepreneurial spirit.

What began as custom T-shirts for college dance crews soon evolved into a clothing line that would speak to, and from, Dharavi. Rohan and Arjun scraped together resources, buying fabrics from Dharavi’s chindi market for as little as Rs. 50 a metre.These scraps, often considered waste, rivalled high-end textiles in quality. This ability to transform constraints into innovation became the DNA of DFC.

In 2019, they opened their first physical store in Dharavi. High-quality streetwear could come from a neighbourhood more often stereotyped than celebrated. DFC’s identity is inseparable from Dharavi itself. The neighbourhood is one of Mumbai’s most resourceful hubs, producing everything from leather goods to embroidery for export markets. Yet its contribution to global fashion has long gone unacknowledged.

DFC flips that narrative. By branding their work with the Dharavi tag, they force the world to reckon with the origins of craft it often consumes but seldom credits. Momentum came through community and collaboration. DFC worked with local rap group 7 Bantaiz, tapped digital marketing, and drew inspiration from Dharavi’s creative energy.

Streetwear thrives on authenticity and subversion, born out of constraint. Dharavi itself is the embodiment of DIY urbanism: industries hobbled together by necessity, creativity, and grit. In this sense, DFC is a cultural articulation of a neighbourhood that has always produced against the odds.

As redevelopment plans loom over Dharavi, much will be lost. Top-down redevelopment risks erasing the very spirit that makes Dharavi thrive: community-led, ground-up, and resilient. DFC aims to grow across India and beyond, but only in neighbourhoods that mirror Dharavi’s ethos of being homegrown. Days For Clothing is a living argument. Against stigma, against invisibility, against the idea that luxury or authenticity must come from somewhere else.