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As a Malayali, three things make an Onam season - the clothes, the decorations and the gatherings. Whether it’s running around last minute to get flowers for a pookalam (flower carpet), or getting decked up in set-saree or mundu despite the heat - Onam is a time when there is palpable excitement in the air. Whether you are a Malayali celebrating at home, an honorary Malayali with a love for banana chips and avial, or simply love the Malayali aesthetic - here are some interesting brands from Kerala to keep your eye on for Onam and beyond.
If you’re looking for casual wear that exudes easy elegance, Solace The Label is your best bet for feminine fits. From casual co-ords in soft neutral fabrics to solid dresses with billowing sleeves, Solace The Label has it all. We love them for Onam, simply for the fact that their neutral and floral designs are a great ode to the spring season, and might be suited for casual Onam events, or even just Onam shopping. Plus, you can mix and match the shirt from the co-ord set as a great loose blouse to pair with a Kasavu saree for Onam festivities.
You can follow them on instagram here.
From creating commissioned portraits and artwork that seamlessly weave in people who are long gone, or restoring images that have been lost to time in the form of portraits, Anjali Ashok has already established herself as an artist of note. With House of Urmi, Anjali is creating wearable formats of her art Made in Malabar, where she is based, the pieces from House of Urmi are either hand illustrated and/or digitally printed pieces that are handcrafted. Mainly featuring unisex hand-painted shirts and bralettes for those who want them, Studio Urmi has quickly garnered a community of ardent fans. From water lily-filled ponds to Malayali women with sad eyes, the motifs on the designs from Urmi dive deep into Anjali and the community’s collective memories to create a collection that is truly Malayali in origin.
You can follow them on instagram here.
Designer and the erstwhile curator of the brilliant Biennale Kada 2023, Annah by Annah Chakola is a true blue Malayali brand that we’ve continued to love over the years. The handcrafted lifestyle brand crafted and curated by Kochi native Annah with global sensibilities, is a treasure trove of unique products. From boxy fitted tops made from handcrafted fabrics to red seed and lucky seed (manjadi kuru or kunni kuru), which are a quintessential part of the Malayali identity, Annah’s collection is perennial, but especially a good choice around Onam if you want to add some statement pieces to your sartorial arsenal.
You can follow them on instagram here.
Founded by a multitalented, multimedia designer and architect Meera Chandran, Mannu as a name literally translates to dirt or earth in Malayalam. Under the name of the label, Meera makes terracotta-based jewellery that is hand sculpted, designed and painted. She also curates select pieces that fit into the aesthetics of the brand and customises them for her customers as well. Her terracotta pieces draw heavily from her Malayali culture, especially traditional art forms and make for great statement pieces in an ensemble.
You can follow them on instagram here.
If you’re looking to pair your onam outfit with something neutral and Malayali or want a better leather bag alternative, Malai is the brand that you need to know about. The culmination of intense research and engineering, Malai Eco is a brand that is the brainchild of material researcher Zuzana Gombosova and mechanical engineer and product designer Susmith Suseelan. What started as an experiment to grow bacteria that can be converted into viable material in coconut water, led to the inception of the brand that creates coconut-based leather material. While the idea was simply to create an alternate option, the likeness to commercial leather is just a happy coincidence. Working with international brands, as well as creating their limited products, Malai Eco offers a range of sleek, minimal accessories such as bags and wallets.
You can follow them on instagram here.
When talking about Malayali brands to shop from for Onam, Rouka is a brand that we simply cannot ignore. Making it feel like it’s Onam all year around, Rouka creates airy, handloom pieces that are deeply rooted in their Malayali identity. Their recently released Pre-Onam collection was a homage to the idea of home and of migratory birds that return home for spring, much like expats who come home for Onam.
You can learn more about the whole collection in our dedicated piece.
An OG Kerala brand that has been creating truly Malayali products for the masses since the last decade or so, Via Kerala makes everything from art prints and stationery to card games and colouring books. But every single piece is infused with aspects of Malayali heritage and culture. Their Kerala Kutti t-shirts for kids, leaping elephant logo t-shirt and Malayalam letters bookends are three products that have garnered attention over the years. But personally, we’re huge fans of the Malayalam word art prints and the 'fauna of Periyar reserve' cards.
You can follow them on instagram here.
A Malayali origin brand that came to the limelight quite recently, Neytt is a high-fashion rug brand that originated in Alleppey, Kerala and has worked with some brilliant designers from the world over, to create beautiful pieces of carpets and rugs. Their most recent achievement however was being responsible for creating the MET Gala 2023 carpet from 100% sisal fibres that are derived from Agave plants. As a heritage brand with a history that goes back beyond a century, Neytt hopes to revolutionise the field by blending heritage and modernism and highlighting the authentic beauty of craftsmanship that comes alive with modern design. They create designs that range the spectrum of accessibility - from Malayali motifs such as boats and oars to whimsical doodles. They also seek to create sustainable spaces by only using the best raw materials such as silk, sisal, seagrass, water hyacinth, lyocell, bamboo silk, linen, and recycled PET.
You can follow them on instagram here.
This brand is a social movement in the making; Uravav is a Bmboo-Based Grassroots Developments Organisation that creates lifestyle products and interior decorations and even installations if required, from the material. While Uravu is primarily not an off-the-rack brand, it is worthy of knowing, and they do have a small selection of their products listed on their native website, out of which their lamp shades are the most chic products. While their range of products may not be as quirky, Uravu as a brand is doing a lot for the communities that are working with them, to strengthen their community and income.
You can follow them on instagram here.
While the products that Green Heirloom offers are not limited to Malayali cookware, it is a brand that is based out of Kerala. One which was inspired by the traditional vessels such as ‘manchatti’ and ‘kinnam’, that speak volumes about the culture and social hierarchy, while slowly fading away from existence. Founded by Kaviya Cherian, Green Heirloom offers a unique platform for local artisans across the country to sell sustainable and eco-friendly cookware through them. The cookware brand reaches out to artisans and involves and engages with them to create products that match customer expectations while ensuring fair remuneration for the artisans themselves.
You can learn more about their journey in the previous Homegrown feature.
You can find more about them here.
Mrs. K.M.Mathew’s Finest
Perhaps considered Kerala’s most prolific food and recipe writers, Annamma Mathew was the founder and the erstwhile editor of the Vanitha magazine. Her lifelong work was championing ‘good food’, but Kerala cuisine in particular. She chronicled its nuances; one column, one article and one cookbook at a time. In July 2023, two decades after she passed away, a posthumous book of her best recipes was compiled by her daughter Thangam Mammen, and published by Penguin Books, from the thousands of recipes that her iconic mother had left in her care. If anyone is planning on cooking up an Onam Sadhya, or simply loves the taste of Kerala food and wants to learn how to make some, or wants to gift it to someone who would love it, Mrs K.M.Mathew’s Finest is the quintessential recipe book for the average Mallu food lover.
We bet following along with the pachadi, pulliseri or olan recipes in her cookbook is the best thing that can happen to your DIY Onam Sadhya if you decide to take a try at it.
You can buy the book here.
If you enjoyed reading this, here's more from Homegrown:
Experience The Regional Flavours Of India With These Homegrown Cookbooks
Studio Raw Kochi Is Visually Capturing The Cultural Heritage Of Malayali Proverbs
'Kandittund' Is A Short Animated Film Breathing New Life into Kerala's Classic Legends
