Meet the Qala Collective Brands

Qala Global is a platform where designers and artisanal brands gain direct access to international retailers in search of genuine craftsmanship and ethical practices. They help India’s artisans—and the brands they partner with—find their place in top global markets, while giving retailers the confidence to source true luxury.

We're excited to have these beautiful brands in the upcoming Brand Assembly Shows! Read more about what makes these artisanal Indian brands unique below.

Brand: Guapa

Founder: Reby Kumar

BA: Tell us about your journey as a designer. Was there a specific turning point that encouraged you to launch your brand?

Kumar: After pursuing a masters in Economics and working as a marketing consultant, I decided to dive into the world of fashion. My aim with Guapa is to create fuss free clothing that are versatile with styling. I design three art prints in every collection and play with colors and silhouettes to make the quintessential destination outfit for the Guapa girl.

BA: What inspires your creations?

Kumar: I wanted to create clothes that feel like a mood lift - pieces that are happy, easy to wear, fun to style and full of personality. Clothes that transport you to that carefree holiday state of mind. Rooted in Indian heritage and driven by mindful, ethical choices, Guapa is my way of turning something ordinary into something extraordinary.

Brand: Turn Black

Founders: Nutan Dayal, Amit Chauhan

BA: What is your brand's vision / mission?

Turn Black: At Turn Black, our mission is rooted in challenging conventional norms—both in fashion and in society. We embrace undefinable silhouettes over form-fitted cuts, and we prioritize creativity over conformity. By blurring lines—of gender, class, size, and identity—we aim to resist categorization and celebrate the beauty of ambiguity. Our core design value is comfort, not just in how clothing feels, but in how it empowers people to feel free in their own skin. We believe in the philosophy of slow fashion, anchored in three guiding pillars: Quality, Durability, and Affordability.
We are also deeply committed to sustainability. With 85% of ocean debris consisting of microfibre waste released during garment production and washing, we encourage our community to adopt eco-conscious care practices. To support this, we’ve created a detailed garment care guide to help reduce environmental impact and extend the life of every piece.

BA: Tell us about your journey as a designer. Was there a specific turning point that encouraged you to launch your brand?

Turn Black: My journey as a designer has been about challenging the idea of conformity—especially in how we define clothing, identity, and beauty. I’ve always been drawn to silhouettes that defy structure, that refuse to fit neatly into categories. Instead of tailoring garments to fit societal expectations of form or gender, I’m interested in creating pieces that allow the human body to just be—fluid, free, and unlabelled.

Designing for Turn Black has meant building a visual language rooted in subtlety and strength. I’m inspired by symmetry, simplicity, and functionality. The “less is more” philosophy runs through everything we create—from the minimalist embroidery delicately done by hand, to the careful choice of fabrics that drape and move with the wearer.

Every piece begins with an idea—sometimes a feeling, sometimes a visual—and goes through a thoughtful process of sketching, sampling, refining, and finally, crafting. It’s a deeply collaborative process involving not just me, but my incredible team and our skilled artisans who bring soul to every stitch. Together, we create clothing that isn’t just worn—it’s experienced.

BA: Which craft techniques are incorporated in your products?

Turn Black: We primarily work with natural fabrics such as cotton, linen, and silk. Our designs integrate a range of traditional Indian craft techniques, including kantha stitching, patchwork, and various forms of embroidery such as appliqué, beadwork, and machine embroidery. Looking ahead, we’re also planning to introduce upcycled leather elements into our bags as part of our upcoming Spring/Summer collection.

Brand: Hindostan Archive

Founders: Sahil Meenia & Shaoni Ray

BA: What is your brand's vision / mission

Hindostan Archive: At Hindostan Archive, we exist to preserve India’s textile legacy while redefining its future. Through collaborative partnerships with artisan communities, we revive endangered crafts and transform them into contemporary, gender-fluid designs that speak to modern identities. Rooted in sustainability, we champion organic materials, natural dyes, and ethical practices to create timeless pieces that honor heritage and inspire conscious consumption. Our work is a bridge between generations—stitching ancestral wisdom into the fabric of today’s global fashion narrative.

We envision Hindostan Archive as a global emblem of cultural storytelling, where tradition and innovation coexist without compromise. By elevating Indian textiles to the world stage, we aim to shift perceptions of luxury, proving that craftsmanship rooted in heritage can set new benchmarks for quality, sustainability, and artistry. Our goal is to foster a global community that values the soul of handmade design, ensuring these traditions thrive for generations while reimagining what it means to wear history with pride.

BA: Which craft techniques are incorporated in your products?

In our 'Indian Summers' collection, we have immersed ourselves in ancient textile traditions, reviving rare crafts such as Paako, Suf, Rabari, Pashmina, Bhujodi, and Kharek— each demanding weeks of meticulous craftsmanship by natinal award winning artisans. These traditional techniques are complemented by renowned practices like Ajrakh block-printing, Kantha embroidery, Dabu, and Bandhani.
A standout piece is our naturally dyed black denim jacket and trousers, colored using dye extracted from iron rust. Subtly adorned with hand-embroidered silver ghungroos along the jacket yokes and trouser side seams, these garments exemplify our commitment to blending traditional methods with contemporary design.
Our collection features a range of silhouettes, from boxy and relaxed fits to more tailored designs, ensuring versatility and comfort. We pay meticulous attention to detail, incorporating premium buttons and utilizing Gütermann threads, renowned globally for their quality and durability. We try to leave no stone unturned in our production process, as we strive to honor and preserve these timeless crafts.

Brand: RAFU'D

Founder: Shaishavi Mehta

BA: What is your brand's vision / mission?

Mehta: RAFU'D aims to reinterpret India's storytelling art forms, supporting small-scale artisans, using eco-friendly materials, and creating globally relevant, consciously crafted fashion that sparks joy and self-expression.

BA: What inspires your creations?

Mehta: RAFU'D started back in 2022, but honestly, the idea had been brewing for a long time. Growing up in a Gujarati household, I was surrounded by stories—my mom had this deep love for history and crafts, and my dad was loved to travel. Our family trips were like mini history lessons. My mom always managed to bring back a piece of tradition, whether it was a fabric or a handicraft, and we'd spend afternoons with her narrating tales from mythology or flipping through her favorite magazine, Safari, which had these amazing stories about the Indus Valley Civilization. That passion for storytelling and heritage really stuck with me.
In college, I naturally gravitated towards projects that were inspired by mythology. I even came up with the name RAFU'D during a branding assignment. At the time, I thought I’d focus entirely on upcycling, but after some internships, I realized it wasn’t going to be easy to scale up in that niche. That’s when I pivoted and found my true calling in narrative textiles—these incredible fabrics that have been telling stories for centuries.

Brand: Khara Kapas

Founder: Shilpi Yadav

BA: What is your brand's vision / mission?

Yadav: Sustainability, for me, is not a checklist or a work practice, it’s a way of life. It’s something I live and breathe every day. From the very beginning, Khara Kapas was rooted in this belief. We didn’t just build a sustainable label; we nurtured a lifestyle that honors mindful consumption and conscious creation. Over the years, I’ve realized that sustainability isn’t a destination, it’s an ongoing journey. Everyday is an invitation to pause, reassess, and find better, kinder ways to do what we do - whether it’s finding an alternative material, optimising processes to reduce waste, or simply being more thoughtful in our choices, there’s always something new to learn. I’ve committed to being a student of nature, constantly evolving to align more closely with it.

BA: What inspires your creations?

Yadav: Inspiration for me lives in the quiet moments - long walks, solo travels, silent mornings in the studio. I’m deeply observant and curious, always noticing patterns, frames, shadows, and textures that many might overlook. Architecture, local crafts, everyday people - there’s inspiration everywhere if you pause to see.
Photography and painting are my ways of recording these observations. I often take photos of interesting frames, or just pick up a brush and translate the moment into colour. My studio is my sacred space - it grounds me, energises me, and keeps me in flow. I try to spend at least 20 - 30 minutes a day painting. That ritual, however small, is my daily act of self-discovery and creativity. In the end, I consume art, life, and emotion to keep creating and that’s what keeps the magic alive at Khara Kapas.

BA: What is your signature style / design philosophy?

Yadav: Our design philosophy revolves around the idea of minimalism, clean cuts and relaxed silhouettes, in pure fabrics, earthy tones and simple Indian motifs for prints.

Brand: Rasti

Foundner: Sargam Tomar

BA: What is your brand's vision / mission?

Tomar: I wanted to break the idea that crochet is only for beaches or winterwear and instead show how it can be bold, wearable art for every day. Rasti, which means ‘to be found,’ reflects that journey for me and for anyone seeking joy, self-expression, and comfort in what they wear.

BA: What inspires your creations?

Tomar: Rasti was born from a deep desire to revive the craft of crochet and knitting, which I felt was often overlooked or boxed into outdated stereotypes, especially in India. I began experimenting with these crafts during a personal phase of creative exploration and self-discovery. The more I worked with yarn, the more I realized its limitless potential to express color, texture, and individuality. There’s something magical about the process of turning thin strands of yarn into a garment that radiates joy and sets the mood right. That feeling is what I wanted others to experience too through Rasti. For people to understand clothing on a deeper level, and to feel the difference that comes when something is fully handmade.

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