TheGlitz ‘Super Woman’ Kaveri Lalchand is multi-faceted. A successful designer, Kaveri is the name and person behind the hugely popular designer clothing brand “KAVERI”. She is also one of Chennai’s most prominent theatre actors, social and cultural activists and style icons, known for her eclectic taste and unconventional life.
She lived and worked in New York for a few years, before coming back to Chennai to join the family garment export business. From working closely with a theatre collective to spending a year following her spiritual journey, from running an art gallery and cultural space, to starting an indie publishing company, and finally launching her own luxury clothing line – Kaveri has traveled extensively collecting stories, experiences and skills.
Her resume is indeed impressive. She has worked closely with the Crafts Council of India to preserve and promote traditional Indian crafts and textiles. She is a crusader of BODY POSITIVITY and inspires through talks, presentations, poetry readings and discussions.
Incidentally, there is an interesting tale behind why Kaveri started her brand KAVERI in 2011. It began for a very personal reason. Kaveri had trouble getting dressed. In her mind, she was seeing these beautiful, edgy, unique linen clothes that would drape and flow and she could not find them anywhere, and definitely not in her size or budget.
So she simply started making clothes for herself and her friends. It started with three tailors in the backyard of her parent’s home in Chennai, making 30 garments a month.
One day – ten years ago – when a friend suggested she show her work at an exhibition in Mumbai – She mustered up her courage and put together a collection of 300 garments for the show. They sold 270 of those 300 and since then there has been no looking back!
Today they are a team of 70, with in-house design, printing, embroidery and production facilities and of course, their own flagship store in Chennai. They are stocked in India’s finest multi-designer boutiques. The brand has an international presence with stores in France, Spain, Portugal, Reunion, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Kuwait, Qatar and Lebanon.