Lhanzey Palden and Tenzin Thardoe’s lifestyle and clothing brand, Mapcha, serves as a bridge between traditional Himalayan heritage and contemporary urban living. Based in the Tibetan enclave of Majnu ka Tilla, New Delhi, the name ‘Mapcha’ is the Tibetan word for peacock, a symbol of wisdom and purity in Himalayan culture.
Reflecting on how Himalayan traditions travel — how they adapt, settle and find rhythm in everyday life far from the landscapes that first shaped them — the label builds on the first chapter of the Ladakh-inspired collection to unveil Edition II.
“The first edition, A Return Home in Ladakh, was inspired by the feeling of returning home. I was born in Ladakh, but I haven’t lived there in years. Over time, that distance has shaped how I experience it: it’s both deeply familiar yet changing more every time I visit. That tension between the past and modernity is also at the heart of our design language. The silhouettes draw from traditional Himalayan clothing, crafted in natural fabrics and earthy tones, exploring what home means not just as a physical place, but as memory, landscape and lived experience,” Lhanzey begins.
Edition II, Living Traditions, continues to explore Himalayan silhouettes through a modern lens, designed to be part of people’s everyday lives, wherever they are in the world.
“While the first edition was an ode to the land, the second moves toward movement and travel. The focus shifts from the mountains as a fixed location to the mountains as a rhythm,” she shares.
The collection features seven original in-house designs, each conceived either as a stand-alone piece or as part of a layered set. The collection reimagines traditional Tibetan silhouettes such as the Lhasa and Khampa chubas in dresses, pleated skirts, wrap-on dresses, shirts, tops and pants.
“Ladakhi and Tibetan design, both part of my heritage, inspire the rhythm and design philosophy of the collection. We have always worked with natural fabrics crafted from cotton-linen and cotton poplin dyed in shades drawn from the mountainous landscape and Himalayan architecture. That includes black, midnight blue, aubergine, juniper, brick red and marigold,” she reveals.
₹3,500 onwards. Available online.
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