In 2018, when Deepika Padukone wore two saris from label Advaya for her wedding, it put the Bengaluru-based brand under the spotlight. But the brand’s success story started way before that when it was launched in 2010. “Advaya means unique and we live up to that name as a brand,” says KH Radharaman, founder of the label, who also started The House of Angadi in 2001.
Radharaman comes from a family that has been in the business of textiles for 600 years, with a background as master weavers and court weavers. So, it comes as a surprise that he is not a trained designer but an engineer. However, when he speaks about textiles and innovation, one can sense the passion.
“My motivation to come back to textile was two-fold. I had a family history which made it easier to think about it as one of the options. Ultimately, the fact that I was an engineer and wanted to be an entrepreneur was another starting point.
” He learnt on the job, designing for international design houses. By the end of 2009, Radharaman felt it was necessary to do design intervention and work on woven textiles for the Indian market. “I started doing things that were different.
One of the first innovations was introducing linen blended in Kanjeevaram. Back then, linen in handwoven textile in India was not heard of,” he says, adding, “There was a need for a different identity under which we could house these innovations. That’s how Advaya was born.
” The design studio is in Bengaluru, where they wea.