A new generation of startups is asking consumers not to shrink themselves to fit fashion but redesigning products, campaigns, and conversations to fit real bodies. They are increasingly embedding this ethos into their products—whether through extended sizing, supportive shapewear, or wellness solutions that prioritise health over aesthetics.
“Women are actively seeking clothing that makes them feel confident, comfortable and safe,” says Tejasvi Madan, founder of BeyondBound, who launched the activewear brand in 2024 from her own life experiences and learnings. “Having experienced body shaming and bullying myself, I launched the brand to challenge the idea that insecurity is tied solely to size,” adds Madan. BeyondBound is seeing strong demand, especially for its jumpsuits, top wear and trousers, which resonate deeply with the community. In a recent campaign, the company featured a 4-ft-tall model, reinforcing that representation goes beyond tokenism.
Last year, influencer Kusha Kapila and Vimarsh Razdan co-founded Underneat, designed specifically for Indian body types. It positions shapewear as supportive rather than restrictive—focusing on comfort and body positivity instead of unrealistic silhouette goals.
Beyond Compression
Similarly, Krvvy, an innerwear and shapewear startup led by co-founder and CEO Yash Goyal, identified a gap in the market where legacy brands prioritised fashion-first, occasion-led compression. “Krvvy built its brand around a function-first philosophy: breathability, flexibility, and all-day usability. With sizes ranging from XS to 7XL, we emphasise that comfort should not be limited to body type. Over the past year, we have grown 10x, validating both category demand and its positioning,” says Goyal. For Krvvy, shapewear is becoming a fast-growing segment in women’s innerwear, helping it to expand at nearly 25% year-on-year since its launch in 2024.
Another emerging player, Invogue, co-founded by Maadhav Saxena and Ragini Saxena, was born out of personal frustration. Ragini struggled to find shapewear that worked without making her feel uncomfortable or inadequate. The founders built Invogue as a bootstrapped D2C brand focused on smart base layers engineered for Indian bodies and everyday movement.
Invogue’s products incorporate breathable fabrics, anti-roll designs, flexible compression zones, and seamless construction. Instead of extreme compression, the brand balances firm support with ease. After securing a `2 crore deal from Aman Gupta on Shark Tank India’s Season 5, the company is projecting `8 crore in revenue by this year as it expands categories and channels.
Expanding the Narrative
For its founders, the mission goes beyond product innovation. “Shapewear should empower women to dress boldly and move freely,” Saxena believes. Their advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is simple: focus on the “why”. Businesses built from lived frustration, they argue, are often the most resilient.
While much of the body positivity conversation has centred around women, men, too, face relentless scrutiny— about height, muscularity, fashion choices, and grooming. Contemporary menswear brand Snitch is attempting to shift that narrative.
According to its CMO Chetan Siyal, Snitch is witnessing strong demand, particularly from Gen Z consumers. Starting with a store in Mohali, Snitch has expanded to over over 100 stores across India and plans to continue strategic retail growth alongside strengthening its digital-first ecosystem. “Inclusion is expressed through representation, not labels,” Siyal notes.
Together, these startups reflect a broader transformation in Indian consumer culture. Body positivity today is less about labels—plus-size, petite, muscular —and more about mindset. It is about rejecting unsolicited opinions, reclaiming self-expression, and designing products that work with bodies rather than against them.