By the time a Namai jacket reaches you, its fabric has already crossed thousands of miles and passed through many hands. That journey is the heart of a new feature in The Daily Catch, where writer Matt Moment visited our new flagship store on West Market Street in Rhinebeck, NY.
Sitting on a kantha-upholstered sofa in the shop's back room, our founder and designer Bianca Kuttickattu talked about vintage quilts, zero waste, free lifetime repairs and why every piece we sell is one of a kind. Here's the story...
Every jacket has lived multiple lives
Each Namai jacket begins as a kantha, a traditional Indian quilt hand-stitched from layers of old saris and other lightweight fabrics. Every one is pieced together from a unique mix of patterns, sourced from markets in Jaipur and Delhi.
The quilts themselves were already made from reused cloth. "Back in the day, when the women were making these quilts, they would go from house to house asking for scraps," Bianca told The Daily Catch. "We're beginning the third lifecycle of the fabric."
Our studio coordinator, Grace Hull, sees that history in every piece. "Some woman, somewhere, many years ago made that and used it or gave it to someone as a gift," she said. "It's so cool to see the different patches, stitches, and embroidery on the quilts, and the hand that went into making every one of them."
From luxury footwear to Hudson Valley markets
Before Namai, Bianca spent nearly 20 years designing shoes for international fashion houses like Celine and Acne, after studying in London and Paris. She was creative director of the Italian shoe brand M.Gemi when she discovered kantha quilts on Etsy.
Drawn to their beauty and their connection to her Indian heritage, she began making jackets in small batches during the pandemic. She sold them to friends from her living room, then at outdoor markets around the Hudson Valley.
"2020 was an amazing time for markets because everyone wanted to shop outside," she said. "Then, at a certain point, I wondered whether I could make a living doing this." In 2023, she left her corporate job to run Namai full-time.
The Ladhiya and the Kaira: reversible, free-fitting, genderless
Talking with customers at those markets shaped our two best sellers: the original Ladhiya quilted jacket and the Kaira, a cropped version with a boxier silhouette. Each takes 6 to 8 hours to make.
Both are reversible and fit roughly a women's XS to XL, and both are designed to be genderless. "I designed the jackets with a free-fitting shoulder, so it's quite versatile," Bianca said. "I'm coming from years of working in the shoe industry, where fit and size are the number one things you have to think about, and my life is so much happier not having to worry about millimeters."
Zero waste, with free lifetime repairs
Namai is a zero-waste brand: every scrap of fabric is put to use. We also offer free lifetime repairs on our garments, so each piece can keep living long after you bring it home. As The Daily Catch notes, the UN Environment Programme estimates the fashion industry generates about 92 million tons of textile waste a year.
"The idea of using materials that already exist is integral to the brand," Bianca said. "The joy of having my own business is that I can stay true to my own values and what I believe in. And if that means I sell less, I'd rather just sell less."
Kaitlyn Murray, executive creative director of Hudson Valley Sustainable Fashion Week, put it simply: "Namai's pieces are also reversible, meaning the wearer has two options for how to wear one piece. Sustainability is wearability, and we want to have clothes we can wear again and again."
Gretchen Jones, Project Runway season eight winner and founder of the consultancy Weird Specialty, called Namai "a purpose-oriented business focused on operating with integrity. It's the full package, really."
Choose your exact piece
Because no two jackets are alike, you choose the exact one you'll wear. After each piece is made in India, it ships to our studio in Kingston, NY, where it's individually inspected, photographed and organized. The photo you see online is the jacket you get.
The same goes for the 75 wholesale retailers across the U.S. who carry Namai; they can cherry-pick their pieces too. "Letting customers choose the piece they want is part of the experience," Bianca said. Grace compares unpacking each new shipment to opening gifts on Christmas.
Growing together, and what's new
Our primary collaborator in India, Tej, made our very first batch of kantha jackets in 2020. Since then, his workshop has grown from a small roadside storefront into a four-story factory with a team of employees. "It's special that we've been able to grow alongside each other," Bianca said.
The collection has grown too. Alongside our kantha jackets, you'll now find:
- Knit sweaters made from recycled silk saris
- Bags made from upcycled nylon
- Denim jackets pieced from a patchwork of used denim
Visit Namai in Rhinebeck, NY
"When people enter the space, I want them to feel inspired, touched by the colors," Bianca said. "It's something I've always hoped: that clothing can empower people and bring them joy."
Find us at 11 West Market Street, Rhinebeck, NY, open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. And join Bianca and Gretchen Jones for our opening celebration on Friday, November 13 at 5-8pm. It's free and open to the public.
Read the full feature
Read Matt Moment's full article, "At Rhinebeck's Namai, Every Jacket for Sale Has Lived Multiple Lives," in The Daily Catch, published November 4, 2026. Photography by Abigail Fenton, Amit Sihag and Alanah Allen.
