This plant-based label brought India’s handloom heritage to Paris Fashion Week

There's a particular kind of conviction that leads two textile scientists to abandon well-paid American careers, pack their bags and spend years crisscrossing the Indian subcontinent in search of something the fashion industry stopped looking for long ago: integrity. Jiwya is what they built from it. Rooted in the Sanskrit word jeev, meaning life, soul and spirit, the brand operates on a simple premise: that clothing should come from the earth and, in time, return to it entirely. No synthetic dyes. No plastic. No animal-derived materials.

Across 19,000 kilometres and more than 200 cities, the founders immersed themselves in India’s heritage textile traditions before formally launching the brand in late 2023. The result is a working relationship with over 150 artisan clusters, a fully handloomed supply chain and a zero-waste, zero-discharge model of production.

At the recently concluded Paris Fashion Week AW ’26, Jiwya stepped onto one of fashion’s most scrutinised stages for the very first time — and did so entirely on its own terms. The label showcased, Lata, a collection that draws from the organic intelligence of climbers and vines — things that grow slowly, purposefully, finding their shape around whatever the world places in their path.

“Lata has 16 pieces and the silhouettes are a very embodiment of a climbing plant. The climbing vine with its leaves, flowers and buds is the work that binds this collection, apart from the signature unbleached beige tone. You have bodycon gowns with statement backs and elegant slits, jackets that flow with the body, jumpsuits with intricate detailing and kamarband structured waist and ties that are signature to say the least with their embroideries,” begins Aishwarya Lahariya, co-founder and designer, Jiwya.

The edit boasts occasion-wear pieces, including the feather-light Goonj Gown featuring a 300-count mulmul that weighs only 140 grams and the Skandha Gown, crafted using mashru weave and reimagined in kala cotton and khadi instead of silk

Jiwya did not start because fashion needs another brand. It started because fashion needs change and the label that change represents their soil-to-soil ecosystem. And that includes spotting natural and unbleached tones of fabric in all of their collections.

“There’s a scientific reason to it. Fibres start consuming heavy water when they are bleached. In our quest to be mindful of the resources we use, we stick to the earthy, unbleached tones to conserve water in processing. Apart from unbleached beige tones that are different for each fibre, this collection carries shades of various climbing plants. The pink of madhumalti, the orange of Aboli, the mild greens and some blues of the jasmine buds. We have used 5-6 different plant ingredients for these shades. Manjistha or madder from western India for pinks, manjistha from eastern India for orange, plant-indigo for blues, myrobalan or harda with indigo for greens,” she elucidates.

Jute has historically been viewed as a utilitarian ‘sack’ fibre, but in Lata, Aishwarya transformed it into high-fashion embroidery. “I honestly shouted with joy when the first sample with jute embroidery was successful. We sat for hours trying variations with jute to keep the intricacy of embroidery while ensuring the functionality of the garment. So, we have three varieties of jute — coarse, medium and fine. You would be surprised to know that the natural colour of jute goes from brown to brownyellow and then shiny golden between these three measures of fineness. When we extract jute from the stem of the plant, the time given for the fibre to stay in water dictates its fineness,” she educates us.

For the hand-embroidery with jute, Jiwya used classic, reliable stitches such as the chain stitch, satin stitch and stem stitch and the jute yarns. The label also introduced hemp with two pieces in this collection. “The beauty of hand-spun, handwoven hemp with jute embroidery on it is a pure rarity in my opinion. The general breakdown of materials in the collection includes kala cotton, khadi, jute and hemp, with the rather flowy silhouettes and tailoring that is not undermined,” she tells us.

₹18,000 onwards. Available online.

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