When clothing brand My Designation launched their Onakkodi box, they did not anticipate the response. Though their merchandise — t-shirts, shirts, bottom wear, hoodies and jackets — that derive heavily from Kerala pop culture, is very popular, the response to the Onakkodi box has them on cloud nine. “We are almost sold out!” says Vishal Venugopal, general manager of the Thiruvananthapuram-based brand. 

One of their Onakkodi boxes, also unisex, has their signature modal Kerala shirt with its cheerful Onam/Kerala imagery — snake boats, sadya, pookkalam, pulikali (tiger dance), chenda melam (percussion ensemble) — a white and gold mundu (dhoti), a notebook with a Mahabali cover, all packed in a bright yellow box with a shades-wearing pop-Mahabali on it. Since the box is unisex and the mundu is a must in each, the brand has posted a tutorial on their Instagram handle to show women how to drape the mundu.  

The Kerala shirt | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

There are variations of the shirt: you can pick the Kathakali shirt, or the one with the Theyyam motif; for those with more sober tastes there is the paisley, tropical, solid green and vintage shirts to pick to go with the mundu. There are options for kids too.

The brand was launched in 2017 with an eye on fashion, while designing and manufacturing garments. The intent was to showcase Malayali culture — “affordable and premium clothing, where culture meets fashion,” he says. Hence came t-shirts which asked Naatil Evideya? (where are you from in Kerala?), a question every Malayali who lives outside Kerala has asked or been asked, announced Adipoli, or borrowed one-liners from films or colloquial lingo. Among their bestsellers, and the one that changed the game for them, was the Kathakali-Theyyam t-shirt, Vishal adds. The t-shirts are manufactured at a unit in Tirupur, Tamil Nadu. My Designation also has merchandise inspired by films such as Minnal Murali, Thallumala and more recently RDX. 

The core team comprises founders Gopika Menon and Swaroop Krishnan, with Haripriya Gopakumar, Gopika’s friend, and Vishal who are the chief operating officer and general manager, respectively. 

From left, Swaroop Krishnan, Gopika Menon, Haripriya Gopakumar and Vishal Venugopal  | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

Gopika and Haripriya are engineers, while Swaroop is a graphic design graduate and Vishal is a commerce dropout. “None of us has a background in fashion, the closest would, perhaps, be Gopika who briefly designed bridal wear. We wanted to create a brand that sold affordable, premium fashion while introducing our culture to a global platform.”

What started out with a handful of designs for t-shirts, has expanded its portfolio and grown into a fashion brand with stores in Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, and a considerable online presence. 

The Onakkodi boxes are priced from ₹999 to ₹1999; available on mydesignation.com