This Biennale season in Kochi, Salt Studio has set up a dedicated Biennale Edition space in Fort Kochi. Walk past this space, and those punchy colours and wild patterns glaring through their store’s glass will hit you like a splash. Spend a little time inside, and it becomes clear that the space is a deep dive into Kerala’s craft roots, the hands behind handloom, and why your clothes should tell a story.
Also Read: The PinkLungi Guide to Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2025–26
Founded by Diya and John, Salt Studio began with a simple question: What if your everyday clothing could carry the stories of the land it comes from? Over time, the brand grew into a fashion label grounded in Kerala’s folk traditions and material practices, while still speaking a modern design language. Salt Studio creates pieces that feel bold without being loud and experimental without losing touch with the people who make them. This Biennale, Salt Studio expands its practice beyond clothing, shaping a dedicated Biennale Edition space in Kochi that brings together fashion, material exploration, art and craft as extensions of its philosophy.
Salt Studio’s Summer ’26 collection, Opera of Kerala, draws inspiration from Chavittu Nadakam, a coastal theatre tradition that emerged during Portuguese rule and continues to survive today. Performers bring this art form alive through heavy foot stomping, dramatic costumes, and larger-than-life characters. Many of them work as fisherfolk during the day and perform at night. This duality of work and spectacle has shaped the emotional core of the collection.
“We want to give voice to those art forms,” the founders say. “The ones that were probably forgotten over the years. We want not only people outside Kerala to know about these art forms, but also create an interest among the younger generation here in Kerala.”
Fabrics and the Co-creators are the Stars
The collection uses Chendamangalam and Kannur cottons co-created with local weavers, breezy banana fiber and linen that drapes like a second skin for Kerala’s humidity.
For this collection, Salt Studio worked closely with Britto Vincent, a Chavittu Nadakam artist and Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Academy awardee, to understand the form’s rhythm and meaning. That energy spills into the space, too. Helna’s clay figurines and Vikalp’s artworks carry the theme into sculpture and painting. A collaboration with Malai Eco introduces bacterial cellulose grown from repurposed coconut water waste, which appears in belts and bags.
The Heart of the Space
At its center is an installation, ‘The Coastal King’, based on Salt studio’s upcoming SS’26 collection ‘The Opera of Kerala’, translating the space into a culturally immersive experience. It is sculpted out of discarded cartons, shredded and layered, with costumes, reimagined from the collection. The cape is woven from leftover, unusable dye-defective yarns from looms, now turned into a blazing heart of colour.
“The installation is an ode to the artists of Chavittu Nadakam, all the men and women taking center stage transforming themselves into larger-than-life characters, thus changing the way we see the world”, which the founders say is the one thing visitors should not miss while visiting the store.
Surrounding this core is a tightly curated selection of brands chosen for how closely they align with Salt Studio’s values. Among them are Anuvad Innovation Studio, Jaipur Rugs, Sirohi, World of Crow, Kokun, Innochi, Malabar Press and Kaaro. Alongside the main collection, the Biennale Edition also introduces an edit of upcycled pieces by Salt Studio, created from unused and leftover fabrics from the brand’s own production.
The label works closely with local artisans and weavers, many of them women, across Kerala, prioritising fair wages, ethical practices and long-term relationships. If you’re Biennale-hopping in Fort Kochi this 2025–’26 season, hit Salt Studio. Trust me, it’ll stick with you.
