SAMUDĀY STUDIOS - COMMUNITY, SUSTAINABILITY AND STYLE

In conversation with the London based community interest fashion company, Samudāy Studios the brand demonstrates how fashion is not only about matching your top with your shoes but about sustainability and supporting your community. In this interview we learn all about the meaning behind their brand name, SAMUDĀY, where it comes from and the brands plans to support their community through the sales of their high-value knitwear to improve child health and education outcomes in high and low-income countries. SAMUDĀY represents everything that fashion should encapsule today, community, sustainability and style. What better plans for this winter than to keep warm in SAMUDĀY knitwear and contribute to improve child health?

YUGEN: Welcome! We are very excited to learn more about your business and the journey the brand has gone through to be were you are today. Could you tell us a bit more about the creation of your brand, how it came about and what the core inspiration and motivations behind it were?

SAMUDĀY STUDIOS: The initial brand came about after we had the opportunity to craft garments made solely from waste fabrics in a factory up in Leicester. We were able to create the first prototype of the Peep-Hole Cardi and learn the power of upcycling. We then formed our mission to inspire and create with children and vulnerable people to give our Knitwear a story. 

YUGEN: And what a beautiful story you are telling through your clothes. Samudāy has a nice ring to it, could you speak more about the inspiration for the brand name?

SAMUDĀY STUDIOS: In Hindi, Samudāy means community, which embodies everything we stand for as a community interest company. We have pledged to re-invest 70% of our profits back into community interventions in both low and high-income communities across the globe. 

YUGEN: It's very admirable what you are doing, sharing and helping those in need. In terms of your target audience, who do you design for? Who do you envision as the Samudāy Studios customer? 

SAMUDĀY STUDIOS: We design with expressive young women in mind who make conscious fashion choices and wish to give back to those in need of support. We would say our customers are those who want their clothing to have a deeper meaning, showcase creativity and tell a story. 

YUGEN: That sounds like the perfect target audience, someone who believes and sees further than just a pretty garment but a meaningful contribution too. And what would you say your vision is for the future of Samudāy Studios? 

SAMUDĀY STUDIOS: We hope to see improvements in the life quality of community members we are working with as we are yet to launch our first full collection. 

YUGEN: In terms of sustainability, what role do you feel it plays in your brand and your design process? 

SAMUDĀY STUDIOS: Sustainability is at the heart of what we do to ensure an ethical and fair production. We pride ourselves on operating on a small scale with simple supply chains that we manage locally to preserve materials and the environment.  

We craft with deadstock yarns and natural fibres which helps us to increase the life and quality of our unique knitwear pieces. 

YUGEN: Could you tell me more about the creative workshops and interventions you host for children? 

SUMDĀY STUDIOS: Most of our designs in our AW21 Collection are inspired by the drawings of children from our Creative Arts Programme, hosted in collaboration with Aceso. The Bee,Grofl and Bella Cat Jumpers came to inspiration during our East London Summer Picnic whereas our Scribble top drew influence from drawings in our Istanbul workshop. These involved inviting families and their loved ones to engage in artistic activities and discuss their community challenges. The Aceso team gained insight into what the communities would like to see change to aid co-development of a social benefit programme. 

We are very excited about our next intervention projects in the pipeline!

YUGEN: This all sounds very inspiring, we are also very excited for your next intervention projects. Other than help support you community, you have given the fashion market new innovative designs to go crazy for! We wish you the best of luck in all your new ventures and thank you for this interview! 

Our wardrobes represent aspects of our personality that not even a detailed cover letter can attain at the moment of answering the question of "Who are you?". In this case SAMUDĀY has made it easier for us to expand over from the visual to the symbolic through their statement garments that combine community, sustainability and style together.

Check out SAMUDĀY STUDIOS collection available at our website, link bellow: