-founder The Silk Concept
I am Ishita Das, founder of The Silk Concept. I was born in Guwahati, Assam and currently, I am based out of New Delhi. My business functions from both Assam & New Delhi.
I am a fashion graduate from Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore. I have interned as a Fashion Stylist for Harper’s Bazaar Bride. Have prior experience in graphic designing for Banyan Tree Resort & Matter Prints, Singapore. Ex-Project Manager & Digital Head for Wedding Asia.
She had completed her high school from Mayo College Girl’s School which is a boarding school in Rajasthan. The Silk Concept is an outcome of my final year college project-3 years ago- wherein I formulated a brand that would work to revive the silk industry of Assam and bring to fore the craft that the weavers work with. When I started this socially innovative label, I wanted to concentrate on my people and place where I could empower them in one way or another to revive the ‘silk’ weaving industry. This was my way to come back to my roots and be connected. I wanted to glorify the beauty behind our craft and culture that our grandparents and family spoke so fondly of and how little our fellow Indians knew about it.
This journey started in Singapore back in 2017 and in 2018 I started a social media page to mainly bring awareness to this part of the world. It went beyond textiles; a platform that spoke highly about my community, culture & craftsmanship. Through this journey, in 2019 the TSC page concentrated on promoting a small accessories line to make people understand the ahimsa/non-violence/cruelty-free ‘Eri’ handloom silk that we as a label planned on using.
This helped us start building the community for our niche products & creating the demand for our supplies. After years of hard work & turning challenges into opportunities, TSC was finally ready to launch its main social enterprise, a gender-neutral clothing line in March 2020 with an E-commerce website but due to the corona virus pandemic, it became difficult for us to fully launch on the given time frame. Finally, after all the hurdles since Anti- CAA, Pandemic, Assam Floods, we are making our website content live to bring forward the journey that stands for ‘Hope’ and ‘Values’.
We will soon be launching our e-commerce portal. The Silk Concept was also founded as a force of change and breaks the norms attached with silk-which has made it only a form of seasonal wear and only a particular age segment would buy. Our accessories line is not made from scraps or is up cycled rather they are made from weaver’s experimentation or when yardage is not sold further in export. The fabric is bought from them in full price to profit the weavers completely.
TSC brings authenticity and tradition to its packaging practices, unlike any of our competitors. Not only are our packages made using organic, reusable waste but they provide a reminder of our roots; adapted to the aesthetic look of the ‘gammosha’, an identity of Assamese culture. TSC will provide consumers with true authentic products which truly embody the tradition and legacy of Assam.
The consumers will help the Assamese weavers to continue the primitive age-old traditions to be celebrated globally in a sustainable manner to preserve our environment. Our accessories are available in a few prime locations in India; Teatro Dhora – Pali Hills Mumbai, Teatro Dhora – Ajmer Road, Jaipur and Nimai – Khan Market, New Delhi. Our online marketplace is partnered with Shuffling Suitcases. Achievements so far:
• TSC’s official video was shot by Aman Chotani who is a professional travel & lifestyle photographer; his work can be seen across National Geographic, The Platform, Outlook Traveller etc, 2018
• At the age of 24, our founder, was honoured to be one of the speakers at ‘National Trade Conclave: Taking Khadi: Local to global’ at IIFT (Indian Institute of Foreign Trade) & FICCI initiative with collaboration with IAMKhadi in 2018.
• Our founder was awarded as an ‘Exceptional Women of Excellence’ by Women Economic Forum in Chennai, 2018 Collaborated with Pearl Academy, New Delhi for industry projects with the students to create unisex outwear collection with herbal dyed Eri Silk, 2019
• For promoting PM’s Vocal for Local imitative- ‘Harper’s Bazaar’ India had recognised TSC in Spotlight 50 along with brands like Anita Dongre, Rahul Mishra, Masaba, Raw mango, to name a few. This highlighted the best local design talent in India. They ranked on 19th spot & is the only brand from Northeast India, May 2020
• Winner of the NERES 1.0 Summit business pitching organised by Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship & FINER. Been granted Rs. five lakhs under the sponsorship of NEC, June 2020.
• Our founder was appointed as one of the National Handloom Council Member for WICCI (Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry) July 2020
