Reimagining Indian Crafts With Clarity And Restraint

At 11.11 / eleven eleven, co-founder Shani Himanshu has time and again revived Indian heritage techniques with a deep understanding of the craft and the community that sustains it. Bandhani, for example, has been an area of significant development for 11.11 / eleven eleven. Traditionally applied on fabric lengths, the brand worked with artisans to evolve a method of executing Bandhani directly on finished garments. This allows the characteristic crush and memory of the technique to be retained through wear.

As Robb Report celebrates India this month, we spoke to Himanshu on honouring Indian savoir-faire and building an ecosystem over the last 16 years in which the brand has treated material, process, and design as one continuous practice rather than separate steps. “Natural dyes or hand-spun textiles are only one part of that system. What differentiates us is the depth of engagement from working with indigenous cotton and developing our own approaches to plant-based dyeing, to refining hand-spun yarns so they function as everyday clothing,” shares he.

What 11.11 / eleven eleven is essentially doing is repositioning craft as everyday clothing, rather than something occasional or ornamental. Rooted yet forward-looking! That requires a certain level of engineering and design intervention. “Authenticity, in this context, is not about preserving something in its original state, but about ensuring its continuity in a contemporary context,” he quips.

The design house further engineers these textiles on the handloom, and julgalbandi with surface-based craft practices like hand painting with Kalamkari artisans, block printing with Ajrakh craftsmen, and techniques such as Bandhani and Shibori. “The focus has always been on how these textiles live on the body — how they breathe, age, and respond to time. Once you experience material at this depth — its behaviour and its relationship with the body — it becomes difficult to return to anything else,” he says.

Entrenching Indian Craft Practices On The Global Map

Globally, what resonates is not just the origin of the material, but the clarity of intention behind it. In a space where many narratives can appear similar, 11.11 / eleven eleven has remained consistent in its approach: letting the work speak through the material, the garment, and now, through the space itself.

Today 11.11 / eleven eleven retails in over 20 countries, including the USA, Japan, France, Hong Kong, and Switzerland. Himanshu notes that expanding across different markets has reinforced one key learning that authenticity travels, even when context changes. “Customers in places like Japan, the US, or Europe may come from very different cultural backgrounds, but they respond to the same things: material honesty, comfort, and a sense of permanence,” he says. An important part of this journey has been building relationships rather than just distribution. 11.11 / eleven eleven co-founder, Mia Morikawa, who is based in New York, has played a key role in representing the brand internationally. Over the years, she has cultivated long-term relationships with the brand’s retail partners, allowing the brand to be understood in depth.

11.11 / eleven eleven doesn’t position these textiles as heritage objects, but as living materials that continue to evolve through use. “What has been encouraging is that customers across geographies are increasingly receptive to this depth. They are interested not just in how something looks, but in how it is made, how it feels, and how it ages over time. In that sense, indigenous practices don’t feel distant; they feel immediate and relevant. At the same time, it comes with a responsibility to represent these knowledge systems with care,” he avers. The brand’s core focus has always been on context, continuity, and respect ensuring that the work reflects the people and processes behind it, rather than reducing it to surface.

He observes a shift in how Indian consumers engage with design. “There is a growing awareness and appreciation for what is made here, and how it is made. Rather than looking outward for validation, many are developing a more confident relationship with materials, craft, and design that originate in India,” he asserts. At the same time, 11.11 / eleven eleven doesn’t approach it through the lens of ‘India Proud’ alone. For the design house, the focus has always been on creating work that is relevant, functional, and enduring, regardless of geography. “When that resonates, the sense of pride follows naturally,” he adds.

Developing A Shared Language With Artisans

At 11.11 / eleven eleven, craft clusters and legacy materials have been reframed through the languages of sustainability, slow luxury, and provenance. For the brand, collaboration has always been about working within the integrity of the craft. Each practice whether weaving, dyeing or surface development comes with its own logic, rhythm, and limitations. 11.11 / eleven eleven’s approach begins with a deep understanding of both the craft and the community that sustains it. “The process is iterative and built over time. Many of the artisans we work with have been part of the journey for years, allowing a shared language to develop. This makes it possible to refine both form and function whether it is adjusting a weave for comfort, developing a dye for consistency, or rethinking scale and placement—without losing the essence of the craft,” he shares.

One couldn’t help but ask him when does revival become reinvention. “Revival becomes reinvention when a practice is no longer simply repeated but re-engaged with the needs of the present,” he affirms. For Himanshu and his atelier, it is not about bringing something back as it was but about understanding its logic deeply enough to allow it to evolve. “Craft traditions were never static they were always adapting to context, material, and use. In that sense, reinvention is not a departure, but a continuation. The question is how to intervene with clarity and restraint, so the essence remains intact while the application becomes relevant again. We often find that the shift happens when a technique moves from being observed to being lived when it enters everyday life. At that point, it is no longer revival. It is simply the craft continuing,” he notes.

11.11 / eleven eleven has pioneered natural dyeing development with inventiveness. He recalls his experience at the farm of Sarvdaman Patel—who's a tall figure in biodynamic farming. “Spending time at the farm of Sarvdaman Patel in Anand was a turning point in how we understand farming. It is widely regarded as one of the most developed biodynamic farms, and being there, even for a week, shifts your perspective on material at its source. Biodynamic principles, originally developed by Rudolf Steiner, bring a deeper understanding of how soil, climate, cosmology and cultivation practices can also influence the behaviour of fibre and pigment. It is not just about growing crops, but about nurturing a system where everything is interconnected,” he recalls.

Following that experience, 11.11 / eleven eleven deepened its work by involving Adheep AK, who leads their plant-based dyeing research. “What became clear is that biodynamic farming has the potential to significantly improve both fibre and colour—from enhancing cotton staple length to increasing pigment concentration in dye plants,” he notes. In one of their experiments with indigo cultivation at an organic farm in Hapur, led by Ashish Tyagi, he saw the indigotin levels rise from around 33 percent to nearly 50 percent. The depth and richness of the colour improved noticeably, while the yield increased almost fourfold. “These are still early explorations, but they point toward a future where material quality is shaped at the level of the farm itself,” he notes.

Design Over Fashion

Himanshu always had a stronger inclination towards design rather than fashion, and his time in Milan, studying at Domus Academy and working with studios like Change Design and Diesel—helped him understand what ‘Made in Italy’ truly stands for. “It is not just about origin, but about a system where craftsmanship, material, and design thinking come together with clarity. That same thinking is deeply relevant to ‘Made in India.’ Many Indigenous practices here are centuries old, rooted in a profound understanding of material and making. With considered design intervention, these systems can evolve into products that are both contemporary and globally relevant, without losing their essence,” he remarks.

The brand’s newest store in Lodi Colony is conceived as a spatial extension of the brand’s philosophy, rather than a decorative environment. Just as 11.11 / eleven eleven garments are built through material, process, and time, the space follows the same logic. The layout unfolds in three parts a front room for the collection preview, an indigo passage, and a Made-to-Measure room allowing visitors to move through the brand's different layers.

Pop culture icons like Brad Pitt, Lewis Hamilton and Dev Patel have worn 11.11 / eleven eleven designs. However, the brand doesn’t approach it from the lens of visibility alone. “What matters more is how the garment is experienced; that it feels natural to the wearer and aligns with their way of being. When someone like Brad Pitt or Dev Patel chooses to wear 11.11 / eleven eleven, it reflects a connection to the material and the simplicity of the clothing. At the same time, these moments help indigenous practices travel further — allowing them to be seen and understood globally through a different lens,” he notes.