NorBlack NorWhite was born out of paying respect to the past, questioning the present and creating for the future. Raised in Toronto, Mriga Kapadiya and Amrit Kumar moved to Bombay in 2010 to explore their Indian roots and a different way of living. Keen on exploring the culture around craft, they travelled the country, being exposed to the diverse streets, people, snacks, villages and craftsmanship of India.
Learning about the process of Bandhani (tie-dye) textiles, the ladies were drawn to developing fresh ways to re-interpret these old school textiles and create awareness among people from around the world about how precious these underrepresented art forms truly are from an aesthetic, process and value point of view. NBNW’s iconic ‘BomBombers’ reversible Bandhani silk track suits opened up the floodgates for exploring more crafts and textile families of India that applied to the worlds of contemporary fashion and street wear.
Without any formal design training, the duo built NBNW from the ground up, designing intuitively and building community while spending the first 6 years living in and working from their 600 sq foot Bombay studio with their Master Tailor (Mohammed Ji/MJ). Fast forward to a decade later, they are based out of a more spacious studio space in the capital city of Delhi surrounded by a sweet team and in-house production headed by Mohammed Ji.
NBNW has naturally evolved into a cultural platform that explores the grey space of culture, and has always prioritized women and independent POC voices and artists long before they became buzzwords. In addition to designing, producing and promoting Indian crafts to the world, NorBlack NorWhite operates as a creative studio that provides design and diversity consultancy, servicing and collaborations.
Learning about the process of Bandhani (tie-dye) textiles, the ladies were drawn to developing fresh ways to re-interpret these old school textiles and create awareness among people from around the world about how precious these underrepresented art forms truly are from an aesthetic, process and value point of view. NBNW’s iconic ‘BomBombers’ reversible Bandhani silk track suits opened up the floodgates for exploring more crafts and textile families of India that applied to the worlds of contemporary fashion and street wear.
Without any formal design training, the duo built NBNW from the ground up, designing intuitively and building community while spending the first 6 years living in and working from their 600 sq foot Bombay studio with their Master Tailor (Mohammed Ji/MJ). Fast forward to a decade later, they are based out of a more spacious studio space in the capital city of Delhi surrounded by a sweet team and in-house production headed by Mohammed Ji.
NBNW has naturally evolved into a cultural platform that explores the grey space of culture, and has always prioritized women and independent POC voices and artists long before they became buzzwords. In addition to designing, producing and promoting Indian crafts to the world, NorBlack NorWhite operates as a creative studio that provides design and diversity consultancy, servicing and collaborations.