Shilpa Iyer founded 'World of Ikat' a sustainable fashion label based out of Mumbai. She is a self-taught designer whose tryst with textiles began very early in life. Her mom is a seamstress who tailored all her clothes using locally available traditional textiles. So yes that’s where it all began.

However, the calling came after spending 13 years in the corporate world. She quit her well-paying job and traveled extensively to meet some of India’s finest artisans from remote villages in South India. Over a period of six months, she learned that some of the indigenous weaves need new markets for them to be able to sustain. Traditional textiles juxtaposed with modern design to suit a global audience was the way forward and that was well received. For example, customers loved our Warangal dhurries that were accentuated with kalamkari block printing and made into a tote bag.

She has worked with 22 unique indigenous techniques and over 600 artisans spread across various craft clusters