Top 10 Fashion Designers in Kerala

Kerala’s top designers include Poornima Indrajith (Pranaah), Shalini James (Mantra), Sheila James (Czarina), Hari Anand, Annah J. Chakola, Alan Alexander Kaleekal, Vanessa Meister Varma, Joe Ikareth, Sreejith Jeevan and Jebin Johny.

Many modernize Kerala handlooms like Kasavu and Chendamangalam, while others focus on bridalwear, upcycling, adaptive and zero-waste design.

Their weaver partnerships matter as Kerala’s registered handloom weavers have fallen from about 2 lakh to around 20,000.

Start Your Fashion Journey Today! Learn Advanced Designing & Boutique Skills with Experts!

Key Takeaways

• Kochi is the main hub, with six of the ten designers based there.
• Lakmé Fashion Week’s Gen Next launched Sreejith Jeevan, Alan Alexander Kaleekal and Jebin Johny.
• Rouka and Pranaah supported Chendamangalam weavers after the 2018 floods.
• Sustainability appears through zero-waste design, upcycling and adaptive clothing.
• Pranaah took Kerala handloom to the Oscars 2025.
• Most designers trained at leading institutions such as NIFT and NID.

Top 10 Fashion Designers in Kerala at a Glance

Why Kerala Has a Strong Fashion Identity

Kerala’s fashion identity is rooted in its handlooms, especially Kasavu, set mundu and neriyathu. Designers now reshape these ceremonial fabrics into sarees, dresses and resortwear. The need is urgent.

Kuthampully alone has shrunk from thousands of weavers to around 200, as reported by The News Minute.

Demand is strong, too. In 2026, Kerala Industries Minister P. Rajeeve said Keralites are among India’s highest spenders on garments and lifestyle products.

Top 10 Fashion Designers in Kerala: Detailed Profiles

1. Poornima Indrajith – Pranaah

Poornima Indrajith – she has a name that has become synonymous with Indian fashion. This TV anchor turned designer and her label Pranaah in Kochi, have been making waves since 2013.

The label fuses together the very best of contemporary designs with the timeless beauty of Kerala handloom, (kaithari) to create outfits that have walked down the red carpet at some of the world’s most high profile events – the 2024 Cannes film festival, the 2019 Venice film festival and even the 2025 Oscars.

And what is more, after the 2018 floods devastated the region, Poornima took on the task of starting the “Save the Loom” community to help the local weavers get back on their feet.

Career lesson: A strong personal brand opens doors, but craft credibility keeps them open.

2. Shalini James – Mantra

Shalini James started her label Mantra all the way back in March 2003 from the living room of her suburban Kochi home. This wasn’t just some overnight success story – she had actually studied fashion at NIFT in Chennai and management at IIM Calcutta, so she knew what she was getting into.

What was ground-breaking about Mantra at the time was that it was one of the first Kerala labels to start offering handloom ready-to-wear clothes in standard sizes, so women didn’t have to get custom tailoring done every single time.

She is also committed to working with local artisans to revive and put back in the forefront some of Kerala’s most beautiful traditional weaves and embroideries, like aari.

Career lesson: Business training can turn a design passion into a scalable brand.

3. Sheila James – Czarina

Sheila James started off with one sewing machine and a single tailor back in 1986 in Thiruvananthapuram – and yet, today her label Czarina is one of the city’s biggest names, especially when it comes to designer sarees.

And in 2020, this highly accomplished woman entrepreneur was even named Outstanding Woman Entrepreneur by the Government of Kerala, alongside no less a person than Poornima Indrajith.

Career lesson: Consistency and a loyal clientele can build a brand without runway fame.

4. Hari Anand – Minimalist Couture

Hari Anand is a man who needs no introduction in Kochi – he’s been a pioneering figure in the design scene there for ages.

But what really got people talking when he opened up Glada, the city’s first ever designer boutique, back in 1992 was his signature style – a clean cut, pastel-shaded, handloom-texture minimalist aesthetic that was a refreshing change from the heavy embellishment that was all the rage back then.

Today, he still sticks to this style, creating resort-wear and custom bridal collections for his clients, and he’s even shown off his designs at the Kochi International Fashion Week 2018 with his presentation of “The Minimalist”.

Career lesson: A clear design philosophy can sustain a career for over three decades.

5. Annah J. Chakola – Annahmol

Growing up in Kochi, Annah J. Chakola probably had no idea that one day she’d be building an accessories brand called Boho Gypsy in the US – but that is exactly what she did.

And when she came back to Kerala in 2016 to launch Annahmol, she brought this wealth of international experience with her and created a stunning label that handcrafts clothing, bags, jewellery and even home pieces from vintage textiles. To top it all off, she even curated the Kada store at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale.

Career lesson: Your personal story and sourcing can be your strongest differentiators.

6. Alan Alexander Kaleekal – Kaleekal

Alan Kaleekal trained at that pretty cool fashion school Studio Berçot in Paris. Before setting up his own label, Kaleekal, in 2015 he had worked with some big names like Rick Owens and Jean Paul Gaultier.

He made quite a splash at Lakmé Fashion Week Gen Next that same year and has shown at the International Fashion Showcase in London too. Kaleekal makes its clothes using Indian handloom and some clever zero-waste pattern cutting, creating really minimalist, sculptural designs that catch everyone’s eye.

Career lesson: International experience sharpens your point of view; local craft gives it roots.

7. Vanessa Meister Varma – Trumpet by Meister

Vanessa Meister Varma is a Swiss girl who fell in love with fashion while living in Kochi. She’s a stylist, graphic designer and illustrator to boot. Her label Trumpet by Meister works like a creative collective with a team of like-minded people in Kochi.

She brings a European style background to the mix and its a great blend with the local creative vibe of Kochi.

Career lesson: Cross-disciplinary skills widen what a fashion label can offer.

8. Joe Ikareth – Move Ability Clothing

Joe Ikareth graduated in 1996 from NIFT Delhi. He worked for a while as a designer with Suneet Varma before moving back to his home town of Kottayam in 1999.

Ikareth started Move Ability Clothing which creates clothes that people with disabilities can actually wear (so the designs are about ease of use rather than just looking great).

He uses local natural fabrics like Kerala handloom and has even worked on projects to reuse unsold stock from other designers.

Career lesson: Inclusive design is an underserved and meaningful niche.

9. Sreejith Jeevan – Rouka

Sreejith Jeevan, who has an impressive track record with NID Ahmedabad and ENSAD Paris, started Rouka in 2013, and then broke into the big time at Lakmé Fashion Week Gen Next in 2014.

Rouka is all about taking the traditional Kasavu saree and giving it a bit of a Kerala modern twist – which is a great thing to see in fashion.

In 2018 he got together with Care 4 Chendamangalam on a project to make some special sarees to help out the weaving community after the floods.

Career lesson: Design can revive a craft community by creating real demand for it.

10. Jebin Johny – Jebsispar

Jebin Johny from Muvattupuzha, won a place at the University of Northampton to do an MA in Design, Fashion and Textiles.

That summer of 2015 he launched Jebsispar at Lakme Fashion Week as one of the seven new designers picked out of a huge 500 plus applicants. He works with local Kuthampully handloom, natural dyes and upcycled fabric, and after a while even got his designs in Elle and Vogue India.

Career lesson: A well-prepared debut on the right platform can fast-track a label.

Designer Comparison: Style and Sustainability

Kerala Handloom Clusters Behind the Designs

Kerala’s four best-known weaving clusters all hold Geographical Indication (GI) tags.

Start Your Fashion Journey Today! Learn Advanced Designing & Boutique Skills with Experts!

How to Start a Fashion Design Career in Kerala

1. Get that degree or diploma in fashion design, textile design or fashion communication.
2. Build a portfolio of about 6 to 10 designs all around one big idea – like taking the Kasavu saree and making it modern or doing sustainable bridal wear.
3. Get an internship at a fashion studio, maybe a boutique or a handloom cluster.
4. Pick up some skills like costing, pattern making, dealing with clients and using social media.
5. Explore jobs like fashion designer, textile designer, stylist or boutique owner.

Conclusion

A lot of Kerala’s top fashion designers are doing something amazing. They are building a fashion career by using local crafts, being really green and having a clear sense of who they are.

For any young designers out there, the chance lies in getting to know the local handlooms really well, making clothes responsibly and bringing the traditional weavers into the modern world.