Shruti Sancheti built her label by resolutely working to revive traditional Indian weaves — without sacrificing style for sustainability. She has worked with Weaver's Centre in Nagpur -under Ministry of Textiles- and sources from weavers of Vidharbha, Maharashtra. She is also working with Indrayani Weaver Center, Maharashtra Weaving Board and with weaver clusters from Jharkhand, Benares and Belgaum to revive weaves specific to the regions.

This is just the tip of the design berg; on graduating in History Honours she switched tracks to Advance Diploma in Fashion Design and then Jewellery Design from JD Institute of Fashion and Diploma in Textile Design from INIFD. She then joined INIFD as Head Of Design and consecutively iLecturer in Masters of Fashion Design at LAD College. After a successful tenure as educationist she launched two retail- centric labels. ''Both my brands are an an extension of my design philosophy — globally relevant design with an Indian soul. My first label 'Shruti Sancheti' will continue to focus on restrained opulence, timeless luxury and sharp tailoring with a deep bent on Indian textile craft whereas pret label 'Pinnacle' which is in its infancy stage fulfils the needs of consumers' daily lives and doesn't make a dent in their wallets.

An admirer of her collections— particularly one inspired by The Swadeshi Movement' which attempted to revive the indigenous handloom industry— and her sustainable aesthetic, I called for news as I was sure she'd be working on something; the designer was crafting a collection with ahimsa silk at that time. ''This is a handloom line made from Ahimsa Mulberry Silk Yarn. There is no killing of pupa in the drawing of yarn made from mulberry cocoons after worms or moths have flown away. I wish the message underlining the collection reaches out to to people — stop merciless killing of silk worms in the name of fashion.'' she explained. Respect.

— JASMEEN DUGAL