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1 week ago | 
homegrown.co.in | Fathima Abdul Kader
Mother’s Day is around the corner, and while classic gifts like flowers and generic chocolates have their charm, there is so much more to consider. We’re also shifting the focus from gifts related to domestic duties like cooking and homemaking to choose gifts that truly celebrate moms for their individuality.
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2 weeks ago | 
homegrown.co.in | Fathima Abdul Kader
I grew up in the era of fanfiction and blind conformity aka the 2010s. 'OTP' or 'one true pairing', was part of my middle-school vocabulary, and I’ll even admit to reading long-winded romance fanfics about Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. We were obsessed with shipping unlikely couples, but ironically, we often dressed the same. There was a kind of performative individuality to the fashion of that time; a desire to stand out while still fitting in.
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2 weeks ago | 
homegrown.co.in | Fathima Abdul Kader
Somya Goyal was the closing designer at the Lakme Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2025 in late March. The Nexa Spotlight award-winning designer’s name was unfamiliar to many in attendance, but not for long. As someone excited by young, homegrown brands, I had done my share of research and gotten insights on the brand from her publicist, who is a good friend. The friend also sent a piece from Somya’s collection to wear to the show. It was one of those movie fashion journalist scenarios.
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2 weeks ago | 
homegrown.co.in | Fathima Abdul Kader
In Akhada, its latest Spring/Summer 2025 collection, lahoS, the Delhi-based label by Sukhchain Singh Sohal, turns its attention to the soil of the Akhada (wrestling arena) and deep-rooted legacies of Punjab. It even wrestles with the concept of masculinity itself; but it isn't reduced to brute strength but rather rendered through a more complex lens - one where discipline, ritual, and community are just as vital as physical prowess.
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3 weeks ago | 
homegrown.co.in | Fathima Abdul Kader
Rina Singh’s medium may be clothes, but she is a poet — and makes clothes for them, too. The slogan of sorts for Eka, which can be spotted at her Delhi store, featured on her website, and even woven into some of her pieces, states the same. Eka has been intersecting with art in various ways, creating pieces that urge one to move with quiet confidence and to wear them to be their best selves. I first met Rina in her store in Delhi.
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3 weeks ago | 
homegrown.co.in | Fathima Abdul Kader
It is often funny to me, having read the broader history of South Asia, whenever I see the outrage of our people over something like lingerie or bathing suits. We’re a lot whose ancestors wore the bare minimum of clothes and decked up in jewellery galore. The very mindset of what counts as ‘decent’ that many continue to propagate is the result of colonisation more than the preservation of our culture, for example, the discovery of the blouse - which you can read all about here.
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3 weeks ago | 
homegrown.co.in | Fathima Abdul Kader
When you live in Kochi, you know that a day trip to Fort Kochi will always leave you with a discovery. That is the beauty of the locale - it is a place where history and modernity live together. Some of the most novel events in Kochi start here, but it is also where some of the oldest buildings in the city continue to be maintained with reverence. During Biennale time, it is teeming with artists and creatives.
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1 month ago | 
homegrown.co.in | Priyanka Blah |Fathima Abdul Kader
The Japanese concept of Omakase which translates to “I leave it up to you” sounded almost ominous to me. Don’t get me wrong, I am anything but an adventurous person, and am open to new experiences. I just don’t deal well with being in the dark; I just need to know a gist of what ‘adventure’ to expect. This might be my neurodivergence at play, but there are exceptions to my ‘need to know’ nature. For example, when I go on a culinary experience, I am all for being surprised.
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1 month ago | 
homegrown.co.in | Fathima Abdul Kader
Debanti Roy has always understood the power of a statement. Before she founded Ugra Shoes, she had built her career as a journalist and played a key role in launching direct-to-consumer brands at Flipkart, Arvind Lifestyle Brands, and more. But she wanted to do more. The brands she worked with often played it safe by catering to the masses, while she craved something unapologetically fierce and unique - something that spoke to the bold, unconventional, and fiercely feminine.
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1 month ago | 
homegrown.co.in | Fathima Abdul Kader
I got a call from a close friend of mine who hails from Calcutta, minutes after discovering the latest collection from The Burlap People. While flitting between raging about the government killing the vibrant nighttime tea culture in Kochi to discussing the latest Japanese crime novel to delve into, I mentioned the lead I was working on.
