Kals Apparel is a Trans owned and Trans run artistic fashion business and we are excited to share our story.

In the quaint town of Pollachi, where thousands of coconut trees dance tall and majestic, where green pastures, sugarcanes, water bodies and mountains mesmerize with their beauty, Kalki Subramaniam grappled with her identity. As a gender-fluid teenager, she witnessed the cruel dance of prejudice against her friends from the transgender community. Families abandoned them, and they sought refuge in the bustling cities, surviving through begging and sex work. When they returned home, their spirits were enervated, their dreams crushed.

Kalki’s heart burned with fear and anger. She knew she had to rise like a phoenix, not just for herself but for her community. And so, to traverse the pain, she turned to art and poetry—the canvas her sanctuary, colours her solace and the pen her mighty sword. Art has such transformative power, that brushstrokes became her rebellion, and pain transformed into purpose. She became the ‘Artivist’ fearlessly documenting her anguish, hope, and rage. Her paintings and poetry challenged oppression, patriarchy, and misogyny, earning her the title of a champion for transgender rights.

In 2008, her organization, the Sahodari Foundation was born. Since then she empowers her community through education, art and entrepreneurship by initiating various projects. The Red Wall Project one such project that allows victims of abuse to write and paint their stories, reclaiming their narratives.

But Kalki had a dream of her own. The artist in her wanders all the time. She constantly explores the hues of being free, the textures of femininity, and the contours of hope. Like a scientist in her studio, Kalki experiments with poetry, paint, and fabric. She blends tradition with rebellion, creating sarees, kaftans and art pieces adorned with verses and blouses embroidered with courage. Each piece whispered stories of transformation.

And so, “Kals” was born—a fashion brand that transcends fabric and thread. Kalki designs sarees adorned with poetry, kaftans stitched with resilience, and accessories woven with acceptance. Each piece whispers, “You are enough.” Kals isn’t just about fashion; it is a manifesto. It declares that art could heal wounds, bridge divides, and transform pain into purpose.

Kals employs less privileged transgender women and destitute cis women, trains them the skills in designing, cutting, tailoring and offers them jobs at our design centre and outsources them the job work too so they can stitch at home. Each garment from Kals whispers stories of courage, stitched with threads of hope.

Our team’s creations have produced catwalks of courage, where models wore more than fabric—they wore stories. The world watched, spellbound, as Kals celebrates diversity, defying norms with every stitch.

With the mentorship of Capco in creating the Sahodari Livelihood Centre, our visionary initiative seeks to transform the lives of marginalized individuals by turning them into entrepreneurs, while also creating cutting-edge, ultra-modern fashion that’s accessible to all. By merging art, and style, Kals is poised to redefine the fashion landscape and inspire a more inclusive and diverse industry.