Looking for genderless T-shirts that earn you street cred? Check out the latest brand on the block 

Kunsquad is their name and street fashion is their game. Every T-shirt that they have on display is a cut above the rest and here's why we are totally digging them. Check out the collection, yo!  
They make a statement | (Pic: Kunsquad)
They make a statement | (Pic: Kunsquad)

How many women have picked baggy T-shirts off the men's sections? Surely, the slim fits from the women section must have caught the guys of the gents too. So why must we let something like gender define what we wear? The same spirit is reflected in each T-shirt that comes out of the house of Kunsquad. This is the idea of four Odisha-based students which they have been mulling over since August last year. "We all own T-shirts and treat them so casually. We never think of them as statements, pieces that could dominate the whole ensemble. That was the aim of our designs that is also infused with street-style, something that all four of us adore," shares Pallabi Sarangi. Brainstorming designs and getting their brand registered took its own sweet time and in April, they finally launched it on Instagram.

From left to right: Divyasha Biswal, Priyabarata Mohapatra, Pallabi Sarangi and Rishika Jena 

Four fashion designing students from International Institute of Fashion Design (INIFD), Bhubaneswar were pursuing internships when they realised that the corporate sector might not be their scene yet. That's how the genderless regular-fit T-shirts of Kunsquad were born. Since there are four minds at work, namely that of Divyasha Biswal, Priyabarata Mohapatra, Pallabi and Rishika Jena, there were different approaches and different ways of designing too. Graphic designing was the most common approach though. And though the lockdown arm-twisted them to work from different cities, their goal was one, "Why should we let gender decide what we wear? There should be no men's or women's T-shirts, we should wear what we want," declares Pallabi. Amen, sister.

That attitude though

Before we get to the designs though, a quick word about their photoshoot, we are diggin' it. It's quirky, fun and makes us want to cart all their T-shirts. One particular T-shirt we are besotted with proclaims, 'I'll forgive 2020, someday'. Ha! Our sentiments exactly. Printed in white on a red T-shirt, if minimalism is your groove, then you'll like this one. A plain white tee that implores one to 'Remember Your Roots' is slightly more elaborate with an extensive illustration of roots beneath the words. Their brand name subtly, or perhaps not so subtly, appears in pink on the sleeve. Also, all T-shirts are printed on 180 GSM material, bio-washed and are 100% cotton. "Though we source our T-shirts from Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and Ludhiana, we ensure, by paying a personal visit, that the print and the T-shirt is nothing but of top quality," informs the 23-year-old.

Sporting the tee

Kunsquad has six regular fit T-shirts out and they are receiving 50-60 orders on a monthly basis already. Looks like their aesthetic is surely vibing with many. "One doesn't have to understand fashion to buy what we are offering, the designs just speak for themselves," says Pallabi who is based out of Bhubaneswar. Talking about the rapport between the four friends and co-conspirators, she says, "We are really close friends and now we are business partners. From designing, creating and right to the final product — we gel well and have fun while we are at it," she shares happily. Well, it surely shows!  

Check this out 

Getting to genderless fashion
- The term 'unisex' exists since 1960s, but the trend is much older than that. But what is the difference between genderless and unisex?
- As per World Health Organisation, sex is a biologically conferred characteristic while gender is a social construct
- Starting from the 1970s, musicians like Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie and Freddie Mercury performed while wearing non-conforming clothes and this went a long way in making it popular  
- The latest is as genderless clothing is catching up in India with several big designer brands like Huemn and NorBlack NorWhite breaking the binary

For more on them check out their Instagram handle @kunsquad.official

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