Hi, I’m Nisha Natarajan, owner of Zariya. I am a self taught designer who quit her corporate job to follow her passion i.e. fashion designing. I started Zariya in Bangalore about 2 years back. I’ve been designing and creating exclusive custom made bridal and festive wear for women. I source my fabric from a unique and farmer-friendly organization called Microspin Machine Works. Incubated by IIT-Maredras, this organization has invented a microspinning machine, the first of its kind in the world where a farmer can enter the gates with a bale of cotton and walk out with a finished fabric. This fabric which has the look of linen and the comfort of pure natural cotton goes by the name Crafted Yarn™. The yarn has a characteristic “neppy” look with a semi-combed feel. These result in creating khadi-like and linen-like fabrics that are very soft, breathable and drape wonderfully.Our Crafted Yarn™ fabrics are grown, spun and woven entirely by people from agricultural background. It is naturally slubbed, in a manner different from mechanical slubs produced in the conventional industry.

Bangalore Fashion Week

I am very excited to launch my label at Bangalore Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2015, which is a huge and expensive milestone for me. This is why I have now decided to take my skills up by a notch by combining them with this cutting edge technology, to bring about a major change in the fashion industry and along with it give farmers a showcase at this prestigious fashion show. Thus begins my journey called, Farm to Fashion.

Why natural fabrics?

Being a designer, I have worked with a variety of fabrics to create exclusive bespoke bridal and festive wear for women. In addition to just silks and conventional fabrics that make an outfit festive wear, I wanted to introduce pure natural cotton in this segment.

Livelihood for farmers made possible, thus Farm to Fashion.

By the time the cotton reaches the end user, it undergoes 30-50 fold value addition, of which the farmer receives no share. We want to fill this gap and come up with an alternative source of income that farmers can rely upon. Our Crafted Yarn™ fabrics are grown, spun and woven entirely by people from agricultural background. When you purchase these garments, you are not just doing yourself a favour. The value that accrues to the farmer is 300% more than if he had just sold the cotton.

So, who is the team behind all this?

We have, of course, our highly trained team of farmers and their families who spin, weave and make sure the highest standard of quality is ensured during the entire process of making the fabrics. Then come the skilled craftsmen who have years of experience with various embroidery and surface techniques, spending hours to get the right designs. Our master-tailor along with his team work under my watchful eyes and get the perfect fit for the garments. I make sure the right kind of materials are used for the embroidery and stitching and oversee every single aspect that goes into making these garments.