Anirudh Ravichander

In Kulitalai, a nondescript municipality in Tamil Nadu, a young man feels like a rockstar as he walks around in an oversized T-shirt that reads: I am a limited edition. And that is the idea behind Piece of Rock, a clothing label conceptualised and co-founded by music composer Anirudh Ravichander, along with his friends Dwarakesh Vikram, Pallavi Singh, and Selvi Thangarajah. “We wanted to create a brand that makes every kid and adult, no matter where they are, feel like a rockstar even when they are doing something regular,” says Dwarakesh, adding, “Ani’s moniker is Rockstar Anirudh. And when he wants you to believe that you’re a rockstar, it’s a powerful message.”

Since its India launch in July this year, the label has sold 2,500 pieces of which 90% of the sales are from the South. And this not just includes Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, but also smaller cities like Kurnool, Krishnagiri, and towns like Gobichettipalaym. It is interesting to see the oversized trend — which is a global street trend — being adopted there.

The unisex T-shirts also have phrases like ‘Badass’ and are available in blue, black, white, red, and grey. The logo is meant to denote two fingers holding a piece of rock. “No two rocks are the same. This is our way of saying each one is unique. You are a piece of rock, you are unbreakable,” says Dwarakesh, adding that the team wanted a clothing brand in India that championed the values of individuality, uniqueness, and self-expression.

The brand made its first appearance in London in April during Anirudh’s Hukum World Tour. The 34-year-old singer-composer sported a black oversized tee with the words Hukum emblazoned across it. This soon became a staple — styled with jackets and other accoutrements — at his other concerts across Australia, the US, and Canada. And as the brand took the concert merchandise from city to city, Anirudh’s fans too were seen in these these T-shirts. “We sold 6,400 Hukum T-shirts worldwide,” says Dwarakesh.

The brand made these tees exclusively for the Hukum Tour. Initially, they did not intend to sell them in India. But seeing the demand, the Hukum T-shirt will be launched here this Deepavali. It will be a limited edition drop and on sale between October 20 to 31. And as a little treat, the team has combos and offers planned for the festival.

While the first drop embodied minimalist aesthetics, for Christmas the plan is to move towards bolder designs. In the works are joggers, office casuals, cargos, shirts, hoodies, thicker garments, crop tops for women and tank tops for men. Plans are also afoot to add accessories such as caps and sunglasses.

Piece of Rock’s production unit is in Tiruppur. “The garments are made with 240 GSM 100% premium French terry cotton. There are other technical processes like silicone washing to give softness to the fabric and still ensure that it falls well,” explains Dwarakesh. Piece of Rock follows the Limited Edition drop model. Each design is produced in small batches and once sold out, they are not restocked. “We also don’t want to put out 25 designs at a time. The fast fashion category is not something we want to be part of. We want to be conscious and go slow and grow,” says Dwarakesh.

The T-shirts are priced at ₹1,200. Available on pieceofrock.com