What's our Story

Ek Katha essentially means ‘A Story’ in Hindi. We are proponents of slow fashion and ethical craft practices. Based in the bustling metropolis Mumbai, but our spirit is firmly rooted in the crafts and its simple rustic surroundings. We nurtured the idea to narrate stories through our design journey which particularly is inspired by the human spirit and the creative energies. Hence our stories exemplify handcrafted, laborious, traditional and ecological means of creation. It is an honest endeavor to engage in practices which are thus ethical and is symbiotic with our mother earth.

The artisan maker is an integral and inseparable part of Ek Katha. Our clothes are a result of creative collaborations with these makers, their skill, their knowledge and their craft of which they are the proud owners. Led by craft and design, Ek Katha’s journey is a testimonial to our steadfast belief that tapping into indigenous knowledge of craft and farming is the way to counter climate change and the adverse impacts of fast fashion.Our motto is to create while preserving the biodiversity.

Our clothes are an amalgamation of quality and responsibility of best practices and a transparent eco-system. We empower our customers to reimagine Khadi and handloom in fashionable, elevated and adaptable styles. Our clothes are a contemporary rendition of the traditional craft. Our clothes are high on fashion at the same time wearabilty and comfort in terms of style, shape, size and silhouettes. We intend to entice our customers to build her conscious wardrobe filled with simplicity, timelessness and slow clothing interwoven with care for the people who made her clothing and respect for our planet.

 

THE DESIGNER AND HER BRAINCHILD

Ek Katha is the brainchild of founder Madhumita Nath. It is a reflection of her creative sensibilities, encompassing the simple, traditional, in sync with nature and with complete consciousness of the impact that the products and its processes (of creation) have on the society. 

A textile graduate from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India; she has derived a perspective of design based on craft practices through intensive study of the crafts, artisans and their immediate surroundings, from travels and documentations. These enriching experiences combined with her intrinsic intuitive nature are a constant guide for creating her clothing and accessories.

Collector of all things vintage, scavenger of flea markets and admirer of anything well aged, raw, earthy, well lived, well used and everything that has a history/story is what would aptly define her. She began her entrepreneurial journey accidentally and without much intention of building her brand. She was organically drawn towards the crafts that she eventually chose to work with that is Batik and handloom weaving, Kala Cotton and other Non GMO Cottons of indigenous species.

“Batik block printing practiced in Kutch is a dying craft with merely 11 units in the entire region spread over 2 main clusters. Most often we gravitate towards the more colourful Ajrakh, but the wax resist technique and the patterns formed when dye seeps into the cracks of wax, the layering of colour in monotone is what drew me towards it. This has to be It.’, says Madhumita.

“Each creative person has one’s unique design process irrespective of what is taught and asked to be followed. My process is based on the material. Materials completely fascinate me , drive me and inspire me and propel my creative juices. The natural raw texture and colour of Kala Cotton  is what I absolutely loved. The way it is cultivated is also something which drew my attention, in traditional farming methods, without any irrigation, purely on the rains which the region gets, without the use of pesticides, purely organic.”- Madhumita

Ek Katha is thus a collaborative effort of artisan and their cloth combined with the design direction and vision of the founder to create a niche space in the fashion space with ready to wear women’s clothing made from safe, biodegradable natural materials which is trans-seasonal, fashionable and luxurious.