The Material and The Body: An Interview With Label Astha Garg
- Sabrina Hau
- 17 hours ago
- 7 min read
India-London-based designer Astha Garg is engaging with sustainability in a way that takes “quality over quantity” to a different level. Growing up in a family of horticulturists and farmers, her passion for material innovation drives her designs to push the boundaries of what garments can become. From experimenting with banana leather to nettle fibers, Astha told Strand: “My dream would be to have my own textile farm to create the fabrics for my designs and have that be integral to the brand.”
For now, she collaborates with local Indian artisans, crafting accents made of wood and embroidered prints with silks, bridging her heritage practices with British tailoring techniques. Having recently graduated from London College of Fashion with a BA in Fashion Design Womenswear, her label debuted at London Fashion Week’s Autumn/Winter 26 season with Where We Linger after only 3 years in business. Currently preparing for LFW’s September schedule, she teased the title Your Home should be Unamable. To understand more about her approach to material development and the connection between art and scientific discovery, we spoke to Garg about how she develops each collection to both evoke emotions and maintain the structural integrity echoed by her label.
Q: Could you tell us how you gain inspiration for your collections and which part is central to your creative work process?
Our garments are supposed to bring out different sensory experiences to our audience through sound, smell, or feel. Each collection has a different concept that focuses on a different emotion; a lot of the time I say that every collection of mine might have a different audience because everybody has a different concept that they relate to. We try our best to be completely environmentally sustainable as well as socially sustainable and give our artisans their due credit and all the work that goes behind the scenes. I gain a lot of inspiration from the craftsmen and the craftswomen we work with, and we honour a lot of works that I feel are dying down recently in hopes of bringing them back to light.
I wouldn't say that there's a specific moment or something that builds up to the concept; it's a lot of smaller, noticing situations. For instance, when we started working on the idea of lingering, we started with the idea that when you stand in a place for too long, that particular part of the wood will chip off faster; or when kids play with one part of the sofa, it wears off in that area. I think that there can’t be a concept without building a world around it, and when building that world, it can't just be in the form of a physical garment.
Q: Knowing your passion for material innovation, what sort of materials have you developed and how has that contributed to introducing more sustainable practices?
Our recent work has a lot of new introductions to wood carvings and tailoring because we like experimenting a lot with different materials. In addition to the label, I also have my own fabric company with my mother, where we developed fabric made out of 50% nettle and 50% cotton, meaning that it is entirely plant-based and is considered a circular fabric. We also work a lot with ahimsa silk: a type of non-violent silk where we wait for the silkworms to leave the cocoon before we spin it into yarn. Currently, we are experimenting with making fringe out of wood, making wood bendable where we hand-carve or even laser-carve the wood in a way that leaves gaps for flexibility.
Something people don’t realise is that the process takes quite a bit of time to develop a good sample. We are still working on quite a few of the collections because we also want to make sure that they are 100% sustainable.
Q: As a lot of your work pays tribute to specific artisans, how have you combined their work with your design inspirations and techniques you have learned while studying in London?
I think my work naturally sits between two forms of knowledge: the traditional craft practices I grew up around in India and the experimental approach to design, tailoring and construction that I developed while studying in London. Living and working between London and Dehradun has also become a very important part of that vision. I spend time travelling through India, meeting craftspeople, visiting workshops and understanding different materials and techniques, and then I bring those experiences back into a more contemporary global context. I think the duality of those two places has become part of the personality of the brand. For example, I’ve made garments from entirely silk threadwork, with absolutely no fabric at the back. The total process took 120 days and six artisans to make one gown. We also worked with Mukaish, a type of embroidery where you flatten and twist thin metallic strips to then be pressed into fabric, giving the fabrics a shimmering quality. It took me six months to find a suitable artisan and develop it into a wearable garment.
That is generally how I approach collaborations with artisans: I don’t want their craft to feel like something decorative. I want to create something that comes from India authentically, through the people, craft, and emotions that have shaped me, but can still speak to someone who may come from a completely different background.
Q: During your studies at London College of Fashion, how has the dialogue between London and Indian cultures informed your creative process?
Something that I actually learned in the past two years of my time at London College of Fashion is tailoring. I've started to introduce more tailored pieces into my brand while mixing in Indian tailoring techniques as well as some British tailoring techniques. Bespoke tailoring, or tailoring as an art in itself, is such a long-drawn-out and hand-detailed process. A lot of times, something as simple as a suit or a jacket might not get the same importance as a piece with a wood carving opening.
The reception in London has made me more confident in allowing Indian artistry to exist without having to explain itself, while creating garments that feel contemporary, personal, and emotionally universal. For me, that is what makes the work genuinely global: not removing where it comes from, but allowing that identity to exist in a way that can be felt and understood across different cultures.
Look 6 from Astha Garg’s collection, Where We Linger
Q: Last season, you were named as one of the “designers to watch” by Fashion Scout; how did that feel? What did that mean to you?
I think when we got selected for Fashion Scout to watch show it was, of course, that we were really excited and honoured that we got selected. But eventually, it went from excitement to responsibility very fast, and I wanted to ensure that our values remained clear. Whenever anybody asks me about my five-year plan, the first thing I would say is that we have our values in place and that we maintain honesty and integrity. We're not a showy brand; not everything that is part of the brand needs to be visible to the outside world. It's for the customer. It's for whoever's wearing it to experience the garment. A lot of times we do embroidery on the inside, or we've made garments with a completely pleated lining on the insert. So it creates that kind of distance and shell-like feeling, but it's still very personal.
I think Fashion Scout was the perfect company institution to do my first fashion week with. They were really encouraging, and they were really kind, especially since it was my first show. Going forward, I do plan on being as ethical with my sourcing, with sustainability, and with my values, and hopefully get deeper into the idea of material innovation.
Q: Some quick-fire questions coming your way: What is your favourite look you have created, the most difficult look made, and your 3 favourite designers, go!
My favourite look has to be the grey suit jacket and pants set. I'm a big tailoring nerd, and the idea of bringing something that combines the Indian archetype and Western tailoring to me is very representative of the brand. The shirt inside the jacket actually has these sound beads, so every time you move, it sounds like you have bangles, similar to Indian ringing bells. For me, this outfit just represents a very powerful figure.
Look 5 from Astha Garg’s collection, Where We Linger
I believe the most challenging project we have ever created was a kinetic wearable art piece. For an extended period, we searched for an engineer or a kinetic artist to collaborate with. I even took a class with someone to learn how to make kinetic garments. Although they weren't particularly experienced in garment design, we ultimately teamed up to develop a piece that allowed flowers to move in response to ringing bells, as if they were blooming on the garment.
And 3 favourite designers - that’s very difficult. Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli; there's not one collection that he's disappointed with. Zegna is one of my favorite brands because they control everything from start to finish. Originating as a small Italian mill, they still weave their own world-class fabrics to craft every garment. Of course, I cannot end my list without naming one of the insanely talented Indian designers - Rohit Bal, because he blended historical grandeur with a deep respect for human craft. A true master of fabric, he transformed hand-spun Khadi and rich velvets into structured, living art.
Q: What would you like to say to aspiring designers who may also be interested in material innovation or creating a brand of their own?
The one thing that is not taught is that people only see the glamour in the industry; more people should be more open about the reality of fashion. Often, there are a lot of facades behind the work that goes into a fashion career. But the most I can say is to be true to your concept; sustaining life while pursuing fashion is hard, and there needs to be a certain balance in order to push through certain barriers.
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Edited by Simon Nora Dreyfus, Co-Fashion Editor
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