Walk into a metro café today and look around. You’ll spot a group of students discussing new sneaker drops, a founder sipping coffee in a Blissclub tee, and maybe even someone wearing a Gully cap styled with Indian streetwear pride.
This isn’t coincidence. It’s branding at work.
India’s new-age lifestyle brands are shaping identity, not just outfits. They’re fluent in the cultural language of a generation that doesn’t just buy clothes but buys into emotion, expression, and belonging.
At Infiniqe Marketing, we’ve been watching this shift closely. Here’s a breakdown of how emerging brands like Comet, Gully, and Blissclub are not just selling products. Nope, they’re shaping culture through smart branding for lifestyle brands.
01. Comet: Streetwear That Knows Its Streets
Comet has managed to turn streetwear from niche to mainstream by understanding the Indian consumer’s growing love for sneakers and hip-hop culture. They’re not just borrowing cues from the West; they’re localising them.
You’ll find references to gully rap, Mumbai cityscapes, and youth-led resistance subtly woven into their aesthetic, down to their packaging. Their brand doesn’t just dress you, it aligns you with a movement.
A major boost to Comet’s visibility came from its amazing approach at storytelling in Branding. You see, they do not rely on featuring celebrities in their campaigns, instead they have a strong presence within the influencer and sneakerhead community in India. They are all about connections
Visual branding: Bold graphics, graffiti elements, oversized typography.
Tonal branding: Confident, slang-infused, conversational without sounding forced.
Strategic branding: Collabs with sneakerheads, creators, underground music communities.
The question isn’t “What product are they selling?” The real question is: “What tribe are they building?”
02. Gully: Born in the Alleys, Made for the Gram
Gully operates like a storyteller more than a fashion brand. Every campaign feels like a chapter from the streets of Bandra, Dharavi, or Old Delhi: raw, rooted, unapologetically Indian.
Their branding isn’t polished, it’s purposeful. They use Instagram reels, murals, rap collabs, and even WhatsApp group drops to create community-led excitement. They have done their market research well and chosen their path. It’s the branding for lifestyle brands that are not afraid to look gritty.
Celebrity recognition? Yes. Artists from the Indian hip-hop community have organically been seen supporting Gully, not in campaigns, but in everyday streetwear snaps.
Visual branding: Hand-drawn elements, local graffiti styles, hyperlocal colours.
Tonal branding: Fearless, hyperlocal slang, emotional yet empowering.
Strategic branding: Timed releases, city-specific pop-ups, music festival tie-ins.
Gully’s brand identity for lifestyle startup founders is a case study in emotional geography. You don’t wear Gully to make a statement. Nah, you wear it to say, “This is where I come from.”
03. Thaely: Turning Trash into Culture
Before sustainability became a buzzword, Thaely had already started turning waste into something wearable, durable, and culturally sharp.
Founded by Ashay Bhave in 2019 as a college project, Thaely didn’t start with seed money or celebrity clout. It started with a simple challenge: how do we keep plastic bags out of landfills and still create something people want to wear?
That clarity of mission shaped everything.
Each pair of Thaely sneakers is made using around 10 plastic bags and 12 PET bottles, all stitched together in sweatshop-free facilities. But what really makes Thaely stand out isn’t just its eco-mission. It’s the way the brand makes sustainability look effortless.
Thaely doesn’t shout. It speaks with clean lines, cool collabs, and quiet confidence.
Visual branding: Minimalist design, futuristic finishes, packaging made from recycled materials.
Tonal branding: Purposeful, transparent, honest without being preachy.
Strategic branding: Collaborations with cultural icons like Subko Coffee and artist Santanu Hazarika, Y2K-inspired drops, strong storytelling around material traceability.
In the growing universe of branding for lifestyle brands, Thaely proves that when your product and values are aligned, you don’t need gimmicks. You just need vision.
Branding Lessons from India’s Lifestyle Mavericks
These brands didn’t follow playbooks. They built new ones. And they sure as hell, did not follow the recent trend of gatekeeping among fashion brands. But even beyond that, this is what stands out across Thaely, Comet, and Gully:
1. Start with a clear reason to exist
Thaely didn’t begin with a product idea. It began with a problem. Every decision since has followed that.
2. Build a look people can recognise
Comet owns bold colour. Gully uses raw textures. Thaely keeps it clean and considered. Their visuals stick without needing a logo.
3. Speak like you mean it
Thaely sounds calm and focused. Gully is loud and local. Comet is bold and urban. Each brand owns its tone and stays consistent.
4. Collaborate with the right people
Gully taps real hip-hop voices. Thaely works with culture-first brands like Subko. These collabs grow the brand without shifting its values.
5. Earn trust at every step
How it’s made. Who makes it. What it stands for. When your brand is honest, people carry it with pride.
These lessons aren’t trends. They’re habits of brands built to last.
The Rise of Sneaker Culture & Expression-Driven Brands
There’s a wider shift at play. India’s Gen Z and millennial audiences are embracing identity-led fashion. Sneakers are no longer just shoes. They’re statements. Expressions, to be more precise. A limited edition drop is more valuable than a logo-laden jacket.
This is a generation that values originality over loudness, and brands are listening.
From VegNonVeg to Superkicks, from regional streetwear to indie D2C plays, the common thread is clear: smart branding for lifestyle brands means building context, not just campaigns.
And as creative partners to emerging brands, we’ve seen that smart branding has three anchors:
1. Community-first thinking
2. Tonal alignment with the consumer’s inner world
3. Visual storytelling that says more with less
Proof in the Sales: How These Brands Took Off
Ideas matter. Execution matters more. But sales numbers…that’s what confirms it all.
Let’s look at what happened when branding hit the right nerve:
Thaely
Starting as a college idea in 2019, Thaely built a global customer base within three years, shipping to over 30 countries and selling out its first drop in days. With price points between ₹4,800 and ₹16,000, Thaely positioned itself as a premium ethical sneaker brand
Comet
Post their celebrity visibility and community-led campaigns, Comet saw a 4x spike in direct website sales within six months. Some of their drops sold out in 48 hours.
Gully
After multiple underground events and partnerships with local artists, Gully went from a niche Instagram brand to being stocked in India’s top sneaker and streetwear platforms. Their hoodie collection became a bestseller among college buyers and creators alike.
Smart branding for lifestyle brands doesn’t just build attention. It converts culture into commerce.
This is what we focus on at Infiniqe. Not surface. Structure.
Is Your Lifestyle Brand Ready to Grow?
Take this 5-point check.
– Do you know what emotion your brand owns in your customer’s mind?
– Is your brand identity for lifestyle startup stage still relevant as you scale?
– Can someone recognise your visual language without seeing your logo?
– Are you still speaking in a voice that your customer relates to?
– Do you have a plan for your brand to live beyond social media?
If you’re unsure of any answer, you’re not alone. Most D2C brands start with a strong product idea. But how to build a fashion brand in India, one that lasts, starts with clarity of brand voice, system, and culture. There is now a new model for D2C businesses, more so in lifestyle brands than anywhere else.
How Infiniqe Helps Lifestyle Brands Stand Taller
At Infiniqe Marketing, we don’t sell branding decks.
We create your second skin. From moodboards to market research, identity development to digital-first execution, we partner with lifestyle brands who want to matter—not just market.
We’ve helped founders translate a vibe into a roadmap. And we do it with a mix of sharp strategy, cultural intuition, and design that’s rooted in Indian storytelling.
Want to talk brand clarity, redesign, or a full identity sprint?
Let’s build something worth talking about.
Frequently Asked Questions: Lifestyle Branding in India
Q1. What makes branding for lifestyle brands different from regular branding?
Lifestyle branding goes beyond selling a product. It involves shaping a worldview that your audience wants to be part of. The product becomes a symbol of a larger identity.
Q2. How do I find the right tone for my lifestyle brand?
Listen to your audience. Study their language, their memes, their frustrations. Your brand tone should feel like the voice inside their head, not a corporate script.
Q3. Do celebrity endorsements still matter?
Yes, but only when the fit is right. Comet with Ranveer Singh or Gully with Divine works because the celebrity embodies the same values. Forced fits dilute authenticity.
Q4. What’s the biggest mistake lifestyle startups make in branding?
Scaling a brand system that wasn’t designed to scale. Founders often skip investing in brand strategy early, and face confusion when they grow.
Q5. How to build a fashion brand in India that stands out?
Start with clarity. Invest in strong visuals, unique tone, and deep cultural insight. Then pair that with consistent storytelling across all platforms, from your website to your Instagram captions.
The Age of Culture-First Brands
This is the age of expression. India’s younger generation isn’t waiting for international brands to tell them what’s cool. They’re creating their own codes, and local brands are rising to meet them. If you’re building a lifestyle brand, you’re not just launching a line. You’re building a language.
Let it speak well. Let it speak true.
And when you’re ready, let’s design it together.
Infiniqe Marketing
