Tailor and Circus

About Tailor and Circus

Tailor and Circus is a Bangalore-founded intimate wear brand built to give Indian consumers underwear designed around real bodies and genuine comfort rather than convention. Started in 2020 by Gaurav Duraisamy and Sampath Vasanth, the brand set out to challenge the hyper-sexualisation that has traditionally shaped how lingerie and underwear are marketed in India, choosing instead to photograph real, unretouched bodies and design for people of every shape, size, and gender. This body-positive approach places Tailor and Circus among a small group of Indian brands treating sustainable fashion as inseparable from social responsibility.

Micromodal: Fabric from Sustainably Managed Forests

The brand’s signature material is Micromodal, a botanic fibre derived from beechwood pulp sourced from sustainably managed forests in Austria, produced under Lenzing’s ecologically certified processes. Compared to conventional cotton, Micromodal requires significantly less water and land to produce, while offering natural antibacterial properties that help keep underwear cleaner and fresher between washes. Though the fibre costs more to source than standard cotton, Tailor and Circus has built its entire product range around it as a deliberate trade-off in favour of comfort, hygiene, and lower environmental impact.

Measuring and Reducing Its Footprint

Tailor and Circus has published a sustainability and impact report covering FY22-23, measuring Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions across its supply chain, from raw material sourcing through to delivery, with a stated target of cutting emissions by 10% year-on-year ahead of 2030. The report also audits water use across manufacturing and typical consumer washing cycles, acknowledging that the textile industry is responsible for more than a fifth of global water pollution. Forward commitments include cutting pre-consumer fabric waste by 40% by repurposing offcuts into toys and accessories, moving to plastic-neutral packaging and logistics, and introducing a garment take-back and recycling programme.

Body-Positive, Size-Inclusive Design

Tailor and Circus designs for both men and women, offering bralettes, padded plunge bras, sports bras, and lounge bras alongside bikini, boyshort, and hipster underwear for women; trunks, briefs, boxer briefs, and boxers for men; and dedicated maternity nursing bras and comfort panties. Sizing is built around real body data rather than a single standard fit, and the brand’s marketing deliberately avoids airbrushing or retouching, reinforcing its stated mission that “self-love is fundamental, self-expression is non-negotiable.”

Transparency as a Core Value

The brand describes its approach as one of full transparency across sourcing, pricing, and financing, publishing its impact data openly rather than only making general sustainability claims. Operating out of Karnataka, Tailor and Circus has grown an engaged community of over 12,000 newsletter subscribers and built a reputation, including national press coverage, as one of the few Indian innerwear brands willing to measure and publish its own environmental impact rather than simply asserting it.

Why Tailor and Circus Belongs in the Green Directory

Tailor and Circus combines a genuinely lower-impact raw material with an unusually rigorous, publicly reported approach to measuring its own emissions and water footprint — a level of accountability still rare in Indian fashion. Paired with its body-positive, gender-inclusive design philosophy, the brand reflects the kind of holistic sustainability the Prakati Green Directory looks to feature.