Leisurely fun has always been at the heart of KGL (Kanika Goyal Label) and Kanika has now imbued her new label Kilogram with the same aesthetics. They look lounge-y-chic, cool and oh-so-comfortable. The designer who has a signature voice that sets her brand apart and New York Fashion Week on her CV, lets t2 into the world of Kilogram.
Kilogram has the same relaxed vibe as KGL (Kanika Goyal Label)...
It’s the same mood and the brand ethos is similar. I have always loved doing T-shirts. I felt we needed to demarcate exactly what’s happening in KGL and not put across a product line which is too diverse. That’s why KGL is now more about elevated construction and tailoring with more unique elements. Kilogram is more laid-back. We also have these T-shirts in KGL, which we still have as one-offs. It’s definitely much cooler, versatile and youth-centric. Over all these years, we have learnt that we want to create something that you can wear down the line. So, a lot of R&D has gone into the knitting of fabric, what yarn to use, the kind of silhouettes we are doing, and how can we make it more gender-fluid. The entire collection is gender-fluid. It’s an easy term to throw out but gets really technical when you think of the sizing of male and female bodies. We wanted to do a brand that would cater to and penetrate into Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
The name is interesting...
We did a line called ‘It’s Ok To Put On A Few KGs’ in 2020, a capsule line under KGL. It was throwing light on the body shaming aspect, but with this, it’s more like the universe of K-gram sort of a vibe. Like, how we think of Instagram. We’ll be doing four drops in a year. The silhouettes are easy. It’s a fun, cool mindset. It’s a blend of cool elements and graphic language.
We felt we needed to get the price points down and get it to the masses, but still need to keep that KGL portion because it is under that umbrella and deliver a product which is in itself its own world.
How has KGL evolved and do you think India took time to warm up to your aesthetics?
It always had that euphoric undertone and that surreal, almost mysterious vibe, away from reality. It’s always been 70s driven or like in terms of architecture, very Brutalist, with all the garment constructions. It’s a lot to do with using elevated construction in the garments and then combining it with elements that are there currently in the scenario. There is a happy undertone to things. Everybody loves that. That’s the universal language. I do feel that when I started off, it wasn’t as wide, in terms of the clientele we were catering to. Of course the provocative and the sexy element is still there, but I do feel, now, we have our spring drops, monsoon and festive drops, specifically also for our primary market here. Our customer range is from a 20-year-old to 65-year-old. So, we have broadened that and that only happened because we do our main line and then are able to fragment that into the commercial aspect and make it more wearable for a larger clientele. It feels amazing.
India has also changed a lot with the advent of social media. Do you think that has played a role?
Hundred per cent. I think social media has really changed a lot of things. Also, we launch a drop and it is sold in two-three months. There is so much information out there, people just want something new. It’s not like two seasons are sufficient. It’s more about the accessibility of it and the newness of it.... You get so many new clients directly from Instagram and you are able to market your products in such an amazing way. I still think that sometimes that may be, it’s a post-Covid situation where people want to dress up. Definitely, people now think a lot more before buying, which was not the case before. So, they have definitely evolved a lot, which is amazing for our country.
What has your global exposure done to you as a designer and a creative person?
I think it’s been great. More than anything, I am grateful that we are three seasons down and to just showcase our craftsmanship to a global audience and be recognised and appreciated for it, where we come from and what the product is.... We are retailing in Japan, Canada, Europe and America. It’s a completely different experience in terms of selling. You are studying so many diverse buying patterns. We think about innovative fabrics and services. We are also thinking about our back-end and not just the forefront, in terms of following a more sustainable chain.
What are your dreams for your label like?
The dreams keep growing and sometimes I try to control myself. There are too many goals like wanting to enter home. That is something I have done as part of my undergraduation. Product designing is something I learnt at the beginning and the first thing I implemented in design. I feel like I keep going back and seeking inspiration for our brand in general, right now. I would also like to have more occasion-centric (line), more couture, but in our own cool way. We are spacing it out. We definitely want to open stores next year. We have already started pushing e-commerce this year. I have a lot of hopes from Kilogram. We really want to expand that and make it much more accessible. We want to extend a part of KGL to everybody out there.