Garments that age with time, enrich life: A Kochi designer's organic venture, Bakr

Everything involved in Bakr outfits is organically produced and stands out for class, art and elegance. Mohamed Hizqeel based in Kochi was not exactly contemplating business when he started designing t-shirts in his studio. He was just extending his passion - painting - to another domain. The apparel line bakr.society he created slowly evolved into a popular home-grown brand and is now a much sought-after fashion destination for casual outfits. The designer entrepreneur shares with Onmanorama the mechanics of creating ensembles that fuse tradition with art, quality and comfort.

What is BAKR in bakr.society?
BAKR in bakr.society is simply the brand name. It doesn’t signify any specific meaning - it was chosen for the way it sounds. The idea behind BAKR was to create a name that’s easy for people to remember, not necessarily one that carries a particular definition. While it does hold personal meaning, as a brand, it’s all about the sound and memorability when someone says BAKR.

What is the difference between the 100 per cent organic cotton, which you use for your garment and other cotton?
100% organic cotton is grown without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, or GMOs, making it more eco-friendly and gentle on the skin. It’s usually more expensive and less common because it requires more careful farming and has lower crop yields. Regular cotton often uses chemicals in farming, which can harm the environment, may cause skin irritation, and is cheaper and more widely available due to mass production.

How are natural colours and dyes made at your studio?
Natural dyes are derived from plants, and minerals through processes like boiling, fermentation, or soaking. At BAKR Studio, all dyes are extracted in-house from the raw material stage, ensuring quality and authenticity. What makes natural dyes different is how they work, the time they take, and how well they age. Like good leather, they get better over time, developing richer, more unique tones as they age.

What is the motivation behind starting such a venture?
BAKR began as an experimental project, driven by a desire to learn more about natural dyeing and revive its lost processes. The brand itself is just a side effect of this journey. It started as a continuation of the knowledge I gained while working as a designer at 11.11/eleven eleven in Delhi. What has kept BAKR going is the pure passion I developed for natural colours along the way.

When did you realize the business prospects?
Honestly, I still have no clue about running a business, and I’ve never approached BAKR from a business perspective. I consider BAKR more of an artisan's brand. The idea was simply to create - just as an artist would create a piece of artwork - and wait for the right people to find it. My focus has always been on making what I love, hoping and trusting that the right audience would come to me. We’ve done no paid marketing; it’s all grown organically through word of mouth.

How is the growth, what is the strategy for the future?
The growth of BAKR has been slow and organic, evolving at a pace that allows us to grow thoughtfully as a brand. Everything we do at BAKR is always in an R&D stage, and it will likely continue that way in the future. We’re constantly refining our techniques, and this steady growth has given us the space to fix and understand things better.

Currently, we sell worldwide through our website and are present in five stores across India, from 108 in Fort Kochi to The Flame Store and Sacha in Goa. We also retail in stores in Japan and London.

Where are they made?
Our garments are stitched by a trusted manufacturer based in Tirupur, following our custom fits and specifications to ensure they are durable enough to handle the processes we put them through. We source plain white t-shirts made to the highest standards, which are then printed and dyed in-house at our studio in Fort Kochi using 100% natural dyes and techniques.