Purushu Arie — Est. 2017, Chennai
Tamil streetwear rooted in handlooms, culture & freedom.
Purushu Arie is a contemporary Tamil streetwear label — home of fully tailored handloom veshtis, lungis and sarees designed for modern everyday life. The brand innovated the first-of-its-kind tailored waistband veshti (dhoti) and lungi with elastic waistband and adjustable drawstring, redefining how South India wears its most iconic garments.
The innovation · 2017
The world’s first tailored elastic waistband veshti (dhoti) & lungi with adjustable drawstring.
For generations, the veshti was draped and hand-tied — elegant, but unforgiving. In 2017, Purushu Arie introduced something that had never existed before in Indian garment design: a pre-stitched handloom veshti and lungi with an integrated elastic waistband and adjustable drawstring. No draping. No slipping. The tradition stays — only the friction disappears.
First tailored waistband veshti & lungi — elastic waistband, adjustable drawstring, functional pocket.
Made from 100% Erode Handloom Cotton, this pre-stitched garment combines Tamil textile heritage with modern pattern engineering. Step in. Pull the drawstring. Done. No draping technique required — ever.
Anti-slip elastic waistband
Integrated directly — no rigid fasteners, no velcro. Stays secure all day across all body types.
Adjustable drawstring
Fine-tune the fit precisely. The garment moves with the body rather than against it.
Erode handloom cotton
Ethically sourced from Tamil Nadu weavers. Breathable, durable, culturally rooted.
Functional tailored pocket
Built in, not bolted on. Carry your essentials without compromise.
How it was made
The brand
Where Tamil handlooms meets contemporary life.
Purushu Arie takes handloom veshtis, lungis and sarees — garments worn by millions across South India for centuries — and redesigns them to move with the demands of modern everyday life. India’s first exclusively ungendered fashion label, founded in Chennai in 2017.
Every piece is made from ethically sourced Made in Tamil Nadu handlooms, engineered with modern construction and designed for real bodies — with pockets, with secure waistbands, with the ease that daily life demands. Familiar in identity. Transformed in function.
“Tradition does not have to remain frozen in time. It can move, adapt and respond to the needs of the present.”
Brand philosophy · Purushu Arie
Origin story
A classroom in Delhi. A veshti that kept slipping. A question that changed everything.
The NIFT moment
During a fashion history class at NIFT Delhi, students were asked to wear their traditional state garment. R V Purusothaman arrived in a veshti — drawing admiration, curiosity and conversation in the heart of Delhi’s fashion world.
The design question
The experience revealed something honest. The veshti kept slipping. It required constant adjustment. Like many traditional garments, it offered little functionality for contemporary life. One question emerged — why should a garment worn by millions depend entirely on technique rather than design?
Years of experimentation
Over the following years, Purushu began prototyping, engineering patterns and gathering wearer feedback. The goal was never to replace tradition — but to make it work better for contemporary life.
A label is born — 2017
The experimentation became a label. Purushu Arie — India’s first exclusively ungendered fashion line — launched in Chennai with a vision to create fashion that is inclusive, innovative and a true reflection of individual freedom.
The designer
Designer, educator, cultural voice.
Purushu Arie — the label, the identity, the movement — is the work of R V Purusothaman, a Chennai-born fashion designer whose journey began at Kendriya Vidyalaya, IIT Chennai, and led him to the National Institute of Fashion Technology in New Delhi.
At NIFT, his fashion blog earned recognition from the Fashion Design Council of India and was named one of New Delhi’s most influential by Hindustan Times. He was invited to officially review shows at India Fashion Week. After graduating, he worked as a Menswear Designer at Lee Cooper (Future Group) in Mumbai before returning to Chennai to write fashion columns for The Hindu Metroplus.
In 2017, he founded Purushu Arie. In 2018, he spoke at TEDxChennai. Today he designs, teaches, and continues to shape conversations around Tamil handloom textiles, inclusivity and the future of Indian fashion.
“Products do not have a gender identity. Our minds do.”
Purushu Arie · TEDxChennai 2018
Journey
Kendriya Vidyalaya, IIT Chennai
A childhood shaped by curiosity and unconventional thinking on the IIT campus.
Graduate — National Institute of Fashion Technology
Blog recognised by FDCI. Named one of New Delhi’s most influential by Hindustan Times. Official reviewer at India Fashion Week.
Menswear Designer — Lee Cooper (Future Group)
Working at the intersection of commercial fashion and street culture.
Fashion Columnist — The Hindu Metroplus
Returned home and built a cultural voice through fashion writing and criticism.
Founded Purushu Arie
India’s first exclusively ungendered fashion label. Introduced the first tailored elastic waistband veshti and lungi with drawstring — a first in Indian garment design.
TEDxChennai Speaker
“Products do not have a gender identity, our minds do.”
Designer · Educator · Cultural voice
Teaching at SRM College, Asian College of Journalism, DOT School of Design, Dream Zone Anna Nagar and more.
In culture
Artists, filmmakers and musicians who made the veshti their own.
The redesigned veshti and lungi began appearing beyond the studio — adopted by cultural figures who brought them into conversations around Tamil identity, contemporary style and individual expression.
Wore Purushu Arie’s elastic waistband lungi during performances — bringing Tamil street identity directly onto the stage.
Explored the veshti as a gender-neutral silhouette — part of a wider conversation around Tamil womanhood, clothing and identity.
Wore the garment as a gender-neutral expression — each interpretation reflecting the same design idea that inspired the work.
Brought the design into Tamil cinema — the veshti as contemporary cultural statement rather than ceremonial obligation.
Brought the garment into contemporary style conversations — tradition worn with ease, without explanation needed.
Wore the design with effortless ease — reinforcing how the veshti belongs naturally in modern Tamil life and culture.
“Traditional clothing can belong fully in the present.”
Purushu Arie
Press & recognition
A decade of recognition.
What we believe
At Purushu Arie, every garment is a quiet act of freedom — a celebration of Tamil handlooms, individual expression, and the refusal to be boxed in by gender, convention, or the way things have always been done.
We use ethically sourced Made in Tamil Nadu handlooms, honour Tamil textile traditions, and design for real bodies living real lives — with pockets, with comfort, with pride. Inclusivity isn’t a feature here. It is the foundation.
Handloomsfirst
Every garment begins with handloom textiles woven by Tamil Nadu artisans. Traditional weaving is not a story we tell — it is the material we use.
Beyond gender
Our silhouettes respond to the body, not to social categories. Clothing for every person who wants to wear it.
Living tradition
Tradition can move, adapt and respond without losing its identity. The veshti belongs fully in the present.
“Veshtis, lungis and sarees reimagined not as relics of the past, but as living garments that evolve with the people who wear them.”
Purushu Arie