Maku - a passion for textiles

Maku Textiles was founded in 2011 by designer Santanu Das. With a passion for handwoven textiles and indigo dye, Maku produces carefully considered handmade garments that celebrate the historic craft traditions of India.

For Santanu, the textile always come first. Maku have built a well deserved reputation for their dedication to and respect for Indian textiles, honouring the  traditions of handspun, handloomed cotton, indigo dyeing and jamdani weaving traditions.

Taking an "anti-fashion" stance, every piece in each collection is exquisitely considered with the most beautiful details, but the fabric itself is always the star. 

Our introduction to Maku Textiles draws on two recent collections - "Change Bengal", which honours the manufacturing industry in West Bengal, and "Setaareh", (meaning "star" in Persian) which takes inspiration from the universal wisdom of the poetry of Rumi and Hafiz.

The "Change Bengal" collection is embroidered in tribute to factories and their workers, long since closed by state sponsored unions and political issues.

The Firpo's top, above, is a tribute to Firpo's, the Italian restaurant, which had a band of 500 members (between 1917-1960) but lost its tune in the 1970s due to the mass exodus of the Anglo-Indian community and the prevailing turbulent political conditions. Firpo's was once the largest producer of bread for undivided Bengal. The Lido room of Firpo's Hotel was witness to some of the most memorable evenings in Calcutta's nightlife, including performances by Arati Das, alias Miss Shefali, the first Bengali cabaret dancer during the heady days of the sixties.

And Jessop, a tribute to Jessop & Co Ltd. Established in 1788, it was one of the oldest companies in India, and was responsible for many firsts in industrial construction in its Dum Dum factory, including an iron bridge built over River Gomti in Lucknow in 1815, the first steam boat to sail Indian waters and the first cable-stayed bridge in India.

Setaareh embraces the universe and expresses the longing for spiritual connection. The different fabrics developed for this collection "summon the nature of the moon light, the shine of the milky way, the invisible lines connecting stars into constellations", and all the blues of the sky. Each piece is embroidered with words from the poets.

Each garment represents the work of many hands - when even the wash care labels are embroidered by hand, you know you have your own hands on something very special!

It is a privilege to be able to offer these uniquely beautiful collections at Juniper Hearth.