Naytra Couture aims to use 100% mulberry silk and Madhubani art to create unique and vibrant garments, uplift and support female artisans, raise awareness about treating curable types of blindness.

Designing and Manufacturing Keepsake Garments

Shagun became fascinated with the 2,500-year-old folk art of Madhubani when she was a student at the National Institute of Fashion Technology in Delhi. She studied the influence of ancient Indian art on culture, textiles, apparel, and fashion. While Shagun was creating her own line of clothing, she wanted to do it the sustainable way. Her goal was to help Mother Earth by creating keepsake garments as opposed to fast fashion clothing. Studies have shown that the fast fashion industry has a negative impact on the environment, including the use of massive amounts of energy and water; increased emission of greenhouse gases; and the depletion of non-renewable sources. Naytra Couture honors the Earth and future generations by only using 100% natural, sustainable silks and adhering to a strict “no plastic” policy.

Eliminating Curable Blindness

Shagun’s mission runs deeper than just creating unique garments. She found out that over 250 million people in the world were visually impaired. Nearly 36 million of these patients were diagnosed with total blindness. This meant that these individuals could not enjoy the riot of colors, fashion, and art that people take for granted daily. Therefore, Naytra Couture works toward eliminating curable blindness across the world. Every time a customer purchases a piece from Naytra, the company donates a portion of the profits to non-profit organizations like the Seva Foundation to perform procedures and surgeries. In other words, customers do their part by giving others the gift of eyesight.

Support and Create Jobs for Female Folk Artists

Naytra Couture works with a variety of female folk artists who live in remote Indian villages. With their knowledge and experience in Madhubani art, they create authentic wearable artwork that reflects their view of the world and makes a fashion statement.

The OEKO-TEX® certification promises consumers that every component of a garment (i.e., the threads, buttons, and other accessories) has been thoroughly tested for harmful substances. Therefore, the article is harmless in human ecological terms.

A Product Testing System

OEKO-TEX® is a well-known product testing system that certifies and labels the safety of textiles and textile products. Today, there is an array of certification levels and textile manufacturers must apply for the most appropriate certification. The most common certification is the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®.

About the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX®

This is one of the world’s most popular labels for testing harmful substances in textiles. It stands for high product safety and customer confidence. According to OEKO-TEX®’s website, this certification system assures consumers, retailers, brands, sources, and manufacturers around the world that OEKO-TEX® certified products meet STANDARD 100’s strict limit values for harmful substances. In other words, potentially hazardous substances do not exist in critical concentrations. Consumers can enjoy peace of mind knowing that articles with the STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® certification are safe for babies and children. OEKO-TEX® was originally tested for approximately 100 chemicals such as heavy metals, carcinogenic colorants, pesticides, and other harmful substances.

Focused on Consumer Safety

While STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX® is better than other conventional textile standards – e.g., the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) – it only serves as a reminder that the finished product has passed a consumer safety test and that any harmful residues are within their limits. The OEKO-TEX® certification does not indicate that the end-product is organic.

Madhubani is a 2,500-year-old folk art that is said to date back to the time of Ramayana. King Janaka had a daughter named Sita who got married to Rama. An artist was hired to capture the wedding by painting it. Madhubani paintings were usually created by women on the floors and walls of homes during special occasions, ceremonies, and other festivals. Because this type of painting originated in the Mithila region in Bihar and is also practiced in areas around Nepal, it is also recognized as Mithila art.

Madhubani art is characterized by complex geometrical patterns and by line drawings filled with bright colors, patterns, and contrasting elements. These paintings are well-known for representing ritual content for religious rituals and festivals like Upanayana, Kali Puja, Surya Shasti, and Holi.

The colors in Madhubani paintings are typically derived from natural sources such as plants. For example, artists may use turmeric to create yellow, wood apple tree leaves to create green, kusam flower juice to create red, lampblack to create black, and ochre to create brown. Instead of contemporary brushes, Madhubani artists usually opt for matchsticks, twigs, or even use their fingers to paint. In addition, the colors are generally applied without shading and artists do not leave any blank space on the canvas.

Heavenly bodies like the Sun and the Moon may form the centerpiece of these paintings.

Mulberry silk is one of the world’s most sought-after silk fabrics. This silk is smooth, sleek, pristine, and feels heavenly on one’s skin. Because of a natural protein called Sericin, mulberry silk features moisturizing, oxidative-resistant, UV-resistant, antibacterial, and hypoallergenic properties. Therefore, mulberry silk clothing is a safe and healthy choice for individuals who suffer from allergies and want to avoid triggering any allergic reactions.

Mulberry silk is made from Bombyx mori moth silkworms. The primary job of these moths is to lay eggs (each moth lays approximately 500 eggs) and dies after they complete their jobs. Once the tiny pinpoint size eggs are collected, they are stored at a temperature of 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature will be carefully and slowly raised to 75 degrees Fahrenheit to hatch the eggs.

Once the eggs have successfully hatched, breeders feed these tiny silkworms an exclusive diet of mulberry leaves 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Fact: Bombyx mori moths only eat mulberry leaves. After a month of constantly gorging mulberry leaves, these silkworms will have increased their weight by up to 10,000 times and have enough energy to start spinning their cocoons. It takes between three and eight days for a silkworm to weave its cocoon.

At Naytra Couture, we design and manufacture an array of tunics, blouses, and scarves that are made with 100% organic mulberry silk. Our luxurious and vibrant collections were created by traditional folk artisans who practice the centuries-old Madhubani art form.

Wearable art is a type of aesthetic that comes in a variety of forms, including sewing, dyeing, weaving, leather, knitted, and sculptural.  This type of art is often seen in exhibitions, but people can actually purchase and wear it. Also known as art-wear, wearable art is usually made by hand and its design originates purely from the artist itself.

Wearable art pieces are not only created so that consumers can wear them but are used to make a unique artistic statement. It represents the artistic expression of a designer – and with handmade garments, highlights his or her craftsmanship, techniques, and skills. On the other hand, it is like the marriage of visual arts and fashion.

The Wearable Art movement emerged in the late 1960s, flourished in the 1970s, and continued in the early 2000s. This wearable art form crystallized at the end of the tumultuous 1960s, when the decade’s cultural, political, and social upheavals provided fertile ground for personal explorations and expression into body adornment. Wearables in the 1970s were unconventional works that celebrated the intimacy of creation via an individual artistic language. Earlier avantgarde dress movements – commenced approximately a century before – were believed to have influenced and caused the emergence of wearable art to the climate of artistic expression.

Today, consumers can find a wide variety of clothes decorated with vibrant images and designs in the wearable art scene.

Mulberry silk is recognized as one of the most durable natural fibers in the world. Due to Sericin’s special silk protein, mulberry silk is odorless, hypoallergenic, moisturizing, antibacterial, UV-resistant, and does not oxidize. 100% mulberry silk does not only feel incredibly smooth and soft but helps keep the wearer dry. This type of silk offers better breathability than cotton and can wick moisture away twice the original speed. Mulberry silk garments ensure that individuals stay comfortable throughout the day.

Because of mulberry silk’s moisture-wicking abilities, this material prevents bacteria and fungi from growing. Microbial growth is impossible without water; less water means fewer microbes. In addition to mulberry silk’s antibacterial properties, it is also free of harsh chemicals such as malic acid, ascorbic acid, and other preservatives. This means that individuals can enjoy better skin complexion and do not need to worry about fabrics irritating their skin and causing acne breakouts.

Dust mites are a primary trigger for allergies like asthma, runny nose, sneezing, and red, itchy, or teary eyes. Mulberry silk is one of the fabrics that can prevent dust mites and microbes from invading one’s clothing. Individuals no longer need to worry about inhaling these toxins.

Naytra Couture’s Madhubani collection is comprised of 100% organic mulberry silk tunics, blouses, and scarves. We offer sleeveless blouses, fitted tunics, scarves and tunic / top styles based on original artwork from the artisans. Customers who want to add mulberry silk clothing to their wardrobe can browse through a wide variety of fun edgy pieces through our website.