How often do you find yourself standing in a lingerie store or scrolling online – looking for a product that meets your needs, aesthetics and quality standards all at once – only to return empty-handed?
In a country like India, where conversations around lingerie still exist on the fringes of public discourse and visible bra straps are frowned upon, the substantial lack of thoughtfully designed intimate wear in the market is no news.
Olakh arrives as a response to this very reality. Found by former corporate lawyer and ardent traveller, Tanvi Ghate, the Bengaluru-based brand is intent on helping India reimagine lingerie as ‘Second Skin.’ Comfort, consideration and curiosity are the three Cs that capture Olakh’s essence. When asked why Tanvi chose lingerie as the targeted category, she promptly answered, “Lingerie has been treated as a commodity for decades. Somewhere between toothpaste and socks. No soul. No emotion. No understanding of the woman wearing it. It is one of the most emotional purchases a woman makes. She stands in front of the mirror wearing it, and thinks about her body – how it was, how it is now, the cake from last night, whether she’ll wear a swimsuit on holiday, whether she still finds herself attractive. These are vulnerable moments. And yet, the products are made and sold without thought. They’re mostly designed for the viewer, not the wearer. What sits on Indian shelves is mostly functional, boring underwear, stitched from whatever raw material is cheapest and easily available. For anything prettier or considered, you’re looking at global brands with thin Indian presence. The most discerning buyers just shop abroad. That’s the gap. The entire emotional middle has been missing.”
Although lingerie is a woman’s most essential and trusted companion, it is ironic how her needs are the least considered factor in the process of production, retailing and marketing. The choice between what looks beautiful and what offers comfort and support seem inevitable. But Olakh’s intricate embroideries, class-apart material, intuitive detailing and tasteful colour palette cover all those concerns, one product at a time. And the secret sauce behind them? An army of skilled experts like Lakshmi Subramaniam and Vijayalakshmi K who head Olakh’s product team, along with months perfecting the fits for Indian body types.
“Lingerie is an engineered product. Sourcing doesn’t cut it. You need people who understand fit, form, and function; not just aesthetics. Fabric composition, stretch and recovery, the tension retention of your trims, cup depth, elasticity. None of this is decorative. All of it decides whether the garment still holds up after thirty washes. At Olakh, we spent the first six months building our signature fit system. Then we designed silhouettes from scratch for Indian bodies. We’re now working through the engineering for larger cup sizes – slowly, properly,” says Tanvi. The brand also offers customisations based on virtual and in-person consultations. No stinging wires, no straps that dig into the skin, no visible cup lines and no spill outs. Olakh’s fits are made for every concern, and no two concerns are the same.
It is perhaps this depth in engineering and understanding that sets Olakh apart. The brand not only challenges the norms surrounding lingerie but also uses them to make a strong case for itself. It’s both bold and feminine, much like its muse – the modern woman of today whom Tanvi describes as, “Someone who knows where she wants to have lunch. She’s decided – about what suits her, what she’ll pay for, what she won’t be talked into. She knows herself. She isn’t browsing. She’s travelled. She’s collected. She’s compared. She’s spent years building a personality she actually likes, and she has no intention of departing from it now.”
It is this conviction and intelligence that she wants to cater to as she expresses, “I expected to convince this kind of woman, whose eyes are trained. She can tell the good from the bad in a second.”
The brand’s very first collection, Chosen Company, is an ode to the founder’s muse who uses her discernment to choose the piece of clothing closest to her. From sleek bodysuits to comfortably structured corsets, brassieres and underwear – the range encapsulates all intimate wear needs that you’ll not only want to live in but also wear out. The corsets, bodysuits and bras are so well designed that you’ll inevitably want to style them as tops underneath blazers and jackets with ease.
The way Tanvi achieves this distinct design language is not only through craftsmanship but also embroideries and hues rooted in traditional Indian techniques. The result is a product that looks global yet anchored in regional aesthetics. At only two months old, Olakh has swiftly established itself as a disruptive force, catalysing conversations around investment-worthy lingerie and compelling consumers to rethink their buying habits. Going forward, the founder insists on emerging as a brand people can rely on without pretending to be anything else; neither fashion nor beauty “What we are clear about is who we are, and who we’re not.”