Palak Shah, the co-founder and CEO of Ekaya Banaras, was an accidental entrepreneur. She had a background in accounts and finance, with no experience of working with textiles. Post obtaining a business management degree from King's College, London, in 2012, her father asked her to join the 120-year-old family-run business of manufacturing textiles. Since then, she has nourished Ekaya with a unique vision and voice.
At Ekaya, the visionary recontextualised the timeless Banarasi sari, while keeping its soul and sanctity intact. Each of Ekaya’s collaborations is an artistic endeavour to rekindle the timeless beauty of India's indigenous textiles and our time-honoured crafts with a fresh spin. Over the years, Shah has collaborated with a diverse artists who resonate with Ekaya’s design philosophy of relentless innovation and craft-oriented approach to design. Think concept saris, salwar kameezes, and separates realised in panoply free-wheeling silhouettes that embody a playful take on ‘India Modern’ designs and iconography.
On the brand’s 10 anniversary, Ekaya also announced its first vintage reselling initiative by inviting patrons to sell their Ekaya sarees, which have existed in their closets for a long time and are looking for a new home. Shah took this opportunity to encourage owners of the brand’s products to extend their collectables' lives. Featuring an exclusive, curated collection of pre-owned textiles, all contributed from the brand’s customers, this capsule collection aimed to catalyse the circular economy of fashion.
Cut to the present and the brand’s Spring/Summer 2025 collection, Ekaya Pastels, celebrates the nuanced amalgamation of delicate Banarasi traditions and sophisticated French elegance. The offerings underscore the contrast of traditional Banarasi weaves and French motifs into fluid saris, sculptural bralettes, and gathered skirts which move with the body's rhythm.
Robb Report India spoke to Shah on her perennial quest for textile and drape reinvention and her push on exploring artistic partnerships with visionary artists.
At Ekaya, you've repeatedly given the timeless Banarasi a fresh spin every season. How has the process of reinventing weaves and drapes been for you?
I seriously enjoy it so much that I don't even know if I am doing it or not. You know, for me, it is a part of me truly enjoying the sari so much that this doesn't feel like I'm trying or I'm doing it season after season.
When engaging in artistic dialogues with a collaborator, what attributes do you look for?
Whenever I collaborate with anyone, they have to be of the same mindset. Someone young, India-proud and trying to take the country in a different direction. It’s a well thought-out and carefully calibrated process to finalise a collaborator each season. They have to be on the same mental wavelength as us. I also love working with people who have never explored textiles before, and the minute I give them a blank canvas, they are able to experiment and create an interesting product. I need somebody who has never thought about things the same way as I do.
Talking about India Proud, do you see a sense of pride among people investing in homegrown luxury?
I think a lot of Indian brands have started investing in quality. People who otherwise shopped internationally are enjoying the quality of our products. Also note that not every homegrown brand is doing well. It’s only the indigenous brands that are genuinely investing in quality and upping their games are the ones who are acing it. Those are the brands people are proudly wearing internationally. Hence, we're investing so deeply and heavily into our product thereby creating a quality akin to international standards.
Do you think you see corsets and bralettes slowly replacing the traditional blouse?
Why not? Why are we held on to a traditional silhouette that is not serving us anymore? I’d rather modernise and give it to people. If I present it in different ways, more people will take it. There's still a big market left to be tapped. Traditionally, handlooms are reserved for occasions. However, it needs to be moved into a couture space.
Do you always have a vision of an Ekaya woman in mind when you design?
Girls like me are my muse—who are hustling and working nine-to-five, killing it at work, but are also India-proud and trying to promote their own country. The Ekaya woman is a modern Indian dynamic achiever, who is well-travelled, independent, strong and warrior-like. She commands attention in any room she walks into with her mere presence. She's not looking at arriving. In her head, she's already arrived.
What's the process of working with your artisans and weavers?
We've done a lot for each other, grown with each other, and learned. And what's beautiful is that the next generation of weavers are now coming into the business—which is fantastic.
What are some of your key retail learnings?
In terms of my retail strategy, less is more. I’d rather do pop-ups and present my brand in limited quantity than go all out and open stores everywhere because that compromise quality. I can't keep up with production the more stores I open.
Ekaya is about hand-woven crafts. Here, pieces take time to come to life. It’s slow fashion when craft-led.
