CHERISHED BY ANCESTORS & NOW BY YOU
SAMAVAI is a label of gender-affirming garments & accessories created by nonbinary Tamil designer Shriya Samavai Wilding. Our products are made from vintage saris and other South Asian textiles and are cut & sewn in India and the US.
Inspired by their grandparents, parents, and family elders, Shriya is interested in exploring how heritage and history can be passed down through textiles to people and communities we love.
SAMAVAI is pronounced SAH • ma • vay
We value transparency in our production process and want customers to understand how all products are made and where they come from. We purposefully work with vintage, deadstock, and handloomed materials in limited quantities so that we can minimize the impact that mass production has on the environment and garment laborers.
We are anti-trend. We want our customers to see the value in slowly and thoughtfully-made clothing that can cut through trend-cycles and last generations. We hope you treat your garments well and cherish them so you can pass them on to those you love.
We unequivocally support oppressed and marginalized people across the globe. We are anti-casteist and vehemently oppose prejudice against Dalit, Adivasi and Bahujan people in South Asia and in the diaspora.