Everybody knows best where his own shoe pinches’, goes the apt proverb, but the entrepreneurial duo at Kkarma—Kabir Varma, Founder, and wife Anisha Varma, Head of Marketing—are set on changing it. For them, no shoe should pinch—ever! 

“Brides go through a lot of pain and misery on account of fashion. They stand for long hours, walk, and even dance in shoes that, though gorgeous to look at, can be extremely uncomfortable and painful,” rues Anisha. It was this gap in the footwear market—availability of shoes that are good-looking yet comfortable—that the brand noticed and intends on addressing.

Brainchild of Mumbai-based Sunanda Varma (mother, Kabir Varma), the brand goes back to 2014-15. “My mother-in-law started designing and selling these, hand-embroidered, colourful juttis, initially, from home, exhibitions and in family and friends network. They garnered so much appreciation that we formalised it into a brand,” explains Varma.

But what’s the story behind the intriguing brand name? “As a family, we all deeply honour the sanctity of karma. What you do comes back to you. We wanted to create a brand that serves people well—quality, affordability, comfort—and hopefully earn some bonus points for the good karma,” says Varma. Not to mention the addition of ‘K’ for Kabir which makes the brand name more personalized and chic.

The brand repertoire also includes flats, wedges going up to 5 inches, platforms, ballet shoes and more. But mules earn a place of pride. “We take credit for being the pioneers of mules. We believe we launched them and they will always remain close to the brand,” says Varma. But where mules are close to their heart, what endears us to their brand is that their shoes are completely vegan. “We do not work with leather or any animal products at all. We work with other materials such as rexine, fabric, suede but no leather and use only locally sourced materials,” says Anisha. Now, that’s definitely going to get the brand some bonus points from karma.

A graduate of Bombay Scottish School, Kabir went on to do his Aeronautical Training from Griffith University, Australia. But the love of shoes and pride in his mom’s work prompted him to move specializations. He worked with his mom for some time before putting a la touché finale on his craft at Accademia Riaci, Italy, in a shoe designing program. Joining hands with Anisha, who is an MSc, in management from University College London, they formed the perfect team—both personally and professionally. And post that there has been no looking back.

What started as a small pursuit is now a full-fledged venture, with plausible plans of growth and progress. Besides footwear, Kkarma also designs bags, potlis, clutches and other accessories to tie in the entire look of the bride. Kkarma retails from exhibitions, trunk shows and wedding extravaganzas held across the country and has a warehouse showroom in Mumbai. 

Cindrella is proof that a pair of shoes can change your life. It definitely did for Kkarma.