Sustainable lifestyle brand, The Shop, comes to the city for a pop-up titled MalMal Mela 

For over half a century now, the sustainable lifestyle brand, The Shop, has been drawing inspiration from hand-crafted textiles in an effort to revive craft communities and their traditional art forms by integrating contemporary design into these age-old forms. The label now travels to the garden city to unveil MalMal Mela, a summer pop-up that brings pieces crafted from one of India’s age-old fabrics crafted from a soft and fine weave of cotton, at the multi-brand lifestyle store Raintree. To learn more about the same, we catch up with the label’s designer, Aishwarya Singh.

“When summer rolls around we want to wear what is lightest for comfort and to stay cool. Mull or malmal is an age-old fabric from India that has been used over centuries to beat the heat. Thi soft and fine weave of cotton that was first made hundreds of years ago,” she begins.  The name, MalMal, was derived from Hindi ‘mul’ which means soft and thanks to the fabric being light, airy, durable and heavenly on the skin, The Shop decided to use this luxurious natural cotton in their clothing line.

From Japanese tie & dye and African traditional motifs to Moroccan mosaics and Indonesian batik patterns, the brand has introduced various collections that capture the essence of traditional textiles from around the world. “Ever since its inception in 1964, the label has brought traditional yet contemporary elements into its designs, be it from books or museums,” the designer shares.

Their previous collections such as the Madrid were informed by their visit to the Rastro, Madrid’s infamous flea market and more while the Shibori line was an exploration of  Japanese tie & dye tradition. The Hawaii-specific print, Viva Magenta, is a chintz print from their archives set in the colour Viva Magenta, which is the Pantone Colour of the Year. “Our inspiration for MalMal Mela comes from the beautiful fabric and feel itself. The collection boasts all things malmal and we have artisan-made products that span different categories and moods for your home and your loved ones,” she reveals. One can shop for ensembles like the Trucker Kurta in leopard black print, the Martina Dress with floral features in Hawaii ruby and Noori Kurta in Madrid pink.  

₹700 onwards. At Sankey Road.