Bianca Kuttickattu

Born in England to artist parents, Bianca Kuttickattu’s childhood inspired a creative practice founded on a reverence for the natural world and the joy of making things by hand. Her career in fashion grew from an early love of thrifting for vintage clothes and second-hand treasures at local markets. The desire to bring this spirit of playful discovery into the design process by thoughtfully repurposing preexisting textiles led her to pursue fashion at Middlesex and complete a master’s degree at the Institut Francais de la Mode in Paris. After graduating, she interned with an NGO in Rio de Janeiro to create a collection of sustainable clothing in partnership with women living in favelas, and worked in the Martin Margiela Couture Workshop making limited-edition pieces from recycled materials, including old vinyl records. Since then, Bianca has built an impressive career designing footwear for leading fashion houses including Celine, Acne and Rag & Bone. These formative experiences influenced the global outlook and commitment to zero-waste production that defines Namai.

On a work hiatus during the pandemic in 2020 and splitting her time between Brooklyn and a small mountain village in upstate New York, Bianca found herself reconnecting with the simple pleasures of her early years: spending time in nature, and returning to the art of crafting things slowly, with care and intention. After witnessing the amount of waste generated by the commercial fashion industry, Bianca founded Namai with the aim of creating one-of-a-kind pieces from pre-loved materials and embracing the informal beauty of clothing with a past life.

The choice to work exclusively with antique Indian textiles was also a deeply personal one: raised primarily by her mother in England and Canada before moving to New York as an adult, Bianca had little connection to her father’s family in Kerala. Designing on her first range for Namai, she felt intuitively drawn towards the colors and fabrics of saris as a way to reclaim a lost part of her own identity. By partnering with local artisans in India, Bianca honors the traditional craftsmanship of her ancestors. Namai is her celebration of heritage, sustainable fashion and timeless design.