A first look inside Chorus: the new chapter from the founders of Moonray

November 4, 2025

Every chorus begins as a single melody. Then comes the layering of other voices, other instruments, a widening of sound. That’s what transformation looks like in craft: not a break from the past, but an expansion of it. When Karishma and Avantika Swali founded Moonray in 2021, they set out to create a brand rooted in responsibility and craftsmanship. Now, we have Chorus: a natural next chapter that carries the brand’s spirit while opening space for more voices, mediums and shared possibilities.

“When Avantika and I started Moonray, it was imagined as a joyful, welcoming space where craft and consciousness could meet naturally,” Karishma Swali tells Vogue India. “As we grew and looked deeper into our work at Chanakya—and its four decades of education and cultural preservation—we began asking broader questions. What began as Moonray was ready to evolve into something more expansive.”

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A first look inside Chorus the new chapter from the founders of Moonray

That expansiveness takes tangible form at Chorus, the duo’s new flagship in Mumbai’s art district, Kala Ghoda. Spread across three levels, the space blurs the boundaries between art, design and daily ritual. The ground floor houses Chorus Edition, their couture arm; Chorus Concept, a platform for handcrafted textiles, ceramics and glassware; and Chorus Wellness, a line of soaps, candles and oils. Upstairs, Chorus Café extends the same craftsmanship to food, offering reflective moments like the Chorus High Tea, where sharing itself becomes part of the brand’s ethos.

Corseted dresses softened with diaphanous overlays; surfaces shimmering with handwork that bridges centuries; cotton cords wound with mathematical precision; metallic threads that catch and refract light; and natural raffia woven into lace-like lattices. The label’s signature denim remains central, made from organic raw cotton and dyed through traditional indigo processes that yield a colour only time can impart. From the rain-fed kala cotton weavers of Kutch to the heritage looms of Tamil Nadu, these partnerships root Chorus in a shared lineage of creation.

That continuum traces back to the Chanakya School of Craft, the Mumbai-based institution that Karishma Swali has led since 1988. As part of the larger Chanakya ecosystem, Chorus emerges as its creative extension by translating the school’s four-decade legacy of preservation, education and innovation into contemporary design. Established to safeguard traditional techniques while nurturing experimentation with modern forms and aesthetics, Chanakya’s philosophy of bridging heritage with invention continues to guide Chorus at every level.

Inside the store, embroidered artworks like “The Offering” honour the artisans behind each piece, while ceramic installations and handwoven panels turn the process into design. “For us, [Chorus] is a reminder that creativity is never a solitary act. Every person brings their own rhythm, and when those voices meet, something fuller and more alive takes shape,” says Karishma. In the end, Chorus feels less like a rebrand and more like a continuation.