The Garden of Luminous Fabrics

I, Moon, want to tell you about a garden that exists between worlds, where forgotten scraps learn to shine.

Long ago, in a place where day meets night, there lived a weaver who collected pieces of abandoned fabric, garments that people threw away, threads that no one valued anymore.

Her garden had no ordinary flowers. Instead, she cultivated these fabrics with infinite patience. She planted them, watered them, and sang ancient songs to them.

Little by little, something extraordinary began to happen. The materials started finding each other. A torn piece joined with another. A loose thread merged with a colorful garment. Together, they wove something new.

People began to arrive, drawn to witness the spectacle. They came carrying their own broken fabrics. The weaver received them in silence and showed them the garden.

There, each person discovered that their scraps could intertwine with others. In doing so, patterns never before seen were born. What seemed like waste transformed into earthly constellations.

When fifty different fabrics came together under the moon, a new star was born in the sky. It was proof that the forgotten could become light.

Those who left the garden were no longer the same. They carried the certainty that beauty could be born from memory and remembrance.

In the garden of luminous fabrics, every ending was a new beginning.

Process

Reaching Collaboration 50 represents a special moment for us. It’s a number that invites us to reflect on the journey traveled and celebrate meaningful encounters. On this occasion, Paiwand, an Indian brand that has transformed the way of working with textile waste since 2018.

Its founder, Ashita Singhal, explains that the word “Paiwand” means “patch” or “repair” in Hindi, but also refers to the concept of grafting: when a plant cannot develop its potential, it is grafted with a portion of another healthy plant. This philosophy defines both Ashita’s work and her own personal story.

“When I look back, I remember being at a very vulnerable point in my life. I felt broken in many ways,” she explains about the beginnings of her brand. “But while I was collecting pieces of discarded fabric and beginning to join them together, I was also repairing myself. I identified with the scraps: discarded, overlooked, but full of potential.”

Paiwand’s process is meticulous. Textile waste arrives at the workshop where it is sorted, washed, ironed, and cut into strips that are later woven on the loom or embroidered on the “Adda,” a traditional embroidery frame. The brand collects these materials from design studios, export houses, artisans, and rag collectors, creating an alternative supply network.

What distinguishes Paiwand is its ability to integrate ancestral techniques like Aari and Kantha embroidery with a contemporary perspective. “Instead of using virgin thread, threading the needle with strips of discarded fabric, giving new life to what would have been thrown away,” Ashita describes. “These textile strips, when embroidered on natural fabrics, create unexpected and meaningful textures and patterns.”

The numbers speak for themselves: in six years, Paiwand has diverted more than 40,000 kilograms of textile waste from landfills, transforming them into higher-value textiles. It has collaborated with more than 80 design houses and has generated sustainable livelihoods for more than 100 artisans, women, and waste workers, many from marginalized communities.

A particularly significant moment came when the Prime Minister of India wore a textile developed by Paiwand in collaboration with RLV New York. “For us, it was more than recognition: it was a symbol of how upcycling and sustainability are rooted in Indian tradition, they’re not just contemporary trends,” Ashita reflects.

For Paiwand, sustainability goes beyond upcycling. “It’s about designing pieces with longevity in mind, pieces that you really connect with, that you fall in love with so much that you want to keep them for years,” explains the founder. Their designs are modular and timeless, created to be styled in multiple ways for different occasions.

As a female entrepreneur in the sustainable fashion industry, Ashita has faced particular challenges. “I started this journey at 23, and at that time, even my own weaver wasn’t convinced of the idea. Because I was young and a woman, the project was dismissed as a mere ‘hobby,'” she recalls. However, her determination and clear vision led her to build a solid network of collaborators.

Paiwand’s vision is to become a bridge between artisans, designers, and conscious consumers. “We don’t see upcycling as an alternative, we see it as the only way forward,” Ashita states.

This philosophy is also reflected in how she advises other conscious creators: “Don’t get carried away by the trend. Sustainability is gaining momentum, but that shouldn’t be the only reason you choose to practice it. Your motivation must go deeper. Take a moment to look around. Understand what you already have.”

It is precisely this authenticity that led her to collaborate with Loona. “This Collaboration is rooted in intention and craftsmanship. At Paiwand, we create conscious and meaningful pieces using handmade techniques with textile waste as the key material, and our partnership with Loona gives us the opportunity to connect with people in different parts of the world,” explains the designer about this new stage.

“We believe that the longevity of a piece of fabric depends not only on its quality, but also on how much one has fallen in love with it,” Ashita concludes.

In this Collaboration 50, we celebrate an encounter that embraces transformation and finds beauty in giving new life to materials. What transformation story are you ready to carry with you?