Earlier last month, Sonam Kapoor posted a picture on her Instagram where she was wearing a Tangkhul Kashan-inspired ĀKHA set. In doing so, the fashion world’s gaze turned toward Ukhrul, a district of Manipur, and the traditional two-piece wrap-around skirt and top set worn by the Tangkhul Naga community. Picking the label East not only showed Kapoor's trust in the India’s heritage and craftsmanship, but it also gave birth to a powerful storytelling, earning widespread acclaim for its designer, Easternlight Zimik.
Zimik has been crafting chic, contemporary wear rooted in sustainability and circularity, drawing attention towards backstrap—or loin-loom—traditions. Since his early days, the designer had a functional and holistic vision towards his ancestral textiles and techniques, eventually giving him the opportunity to showcase at the Seoul Fashion Festival. Robb Report India catches up with the designer to learn more this journey.
Easternlight Zimik (EZ): My journey started in Ukhrul, Manipur, where textiles were woven into daily life. I would carry family heirlooms carrying stories of resilience and ritual, long before I understood 'fashion.' After graduating from NIFT Delhi, I honed my skills in design and illustration in Mumbai, and collaborated with houses like Manish Arora and Gaurav Gupta, before returning home in 2023 to start East. Early on, textiles became my canvas and [I work with] zero-waste loin-loom forms carrying personal and cultural stories that mainstream fashion often misses.
EZ: My identity fuses the intuition of illustrations with the discipline of loin-loom to create garments that are living archives of the Tangkhul community. Straying away from showcasing 'ethnic' motifs, East builds systems—be it by pre-ordering models, weaver co-creations, and conflict-responsive collections—that sustain craft ecosystems amid migration and modernity.
EZ: Ukhrul’s mist-shrouded hills, terraced fields, and shifting seasons infuse every Mekhela. Its fluid silhouettes evoke protective layers against harsh winds, while the earthy palettes mirror the terrain’s drama. It is a conscious embedding of the place, turning wraps into wearable landscapes that carry the hill’s spirit globally.
EZ: Luxury emerges from intention: hand-counted loin-loom weaves, no-waste patterns, and limited pre-orders. At the Ukhrul studio, sustainability means upcycling remnants, ethical scaling, and yielding pieces with tactile depth and provenance that rival high-end ateliers.
EZ: We started with two Tangkhul women weavers. Now, East engages 10 in Ukhrul’s split studio-workshop, where, visa daily dialogues, we co-design patterns and innovate. Long-term, we will prioritise skill-sharing—[this includes] training youth in loin-loom evolution, fair wages, and shared profits—to forge economic resilience with the aim of creating a unified cultural hub that outlives me.
EZ: I'm profoundly grateful to see Sonam [Kapoor] in the AKHA from Patrons. Icons like her amplify dialects, bridge the gap between remote crafts and mainstream eyes, and validate Northeast weaves as vital to India’s fashion lexicon.
EZ: Celebrating India at Seoul was electric! Made in Ukhrul paraded loin-loom tributes to clients and weavers on Gangnam runways, merging Tangkhul's precision with global polish. The thrill was unexplainable! It was like different worlds collided—the threads of Manipur earned applause and proved our craft’s universal appeal.
EZ: The journey ahead includes growing a circle of patrons who value thoughtful silhouettes and cross-disciplinary storytelling—whether through museums, film, or archival work that protects loin-loom traditions. My horizon stretches towards expanding global exhibitions, weaver academies in Ukhrul, and an expanding ecosystem—from home linens to creative collectives—grounded in heritage but looking confidently outward.