About Us

Arthala

Arthala takes its name from artha, the Sanskrit word for meaning.

We took it rather literally.

Something to say

Most clothing is designed to be looked at. Very little of it is designed to say anything. We consider that a waste of perfectly good cotton.

So we work the other way around. Every Arthala piece begins with a thought. Some of our designs will make you laugh. Some will make you pause. Some will feel like a place you grew up in. None of them are there to fill space.

Edited, not produced.

We design far more than we ever release. Each idea is asked one question before it goes any further: does it mean something? Most don't make it. They live in a folder we no longer open.

What survives is made to order and printed only once you have chosen it. There are no racks of unsold stock, and nothing gets made that nobody asked for.

For the ones who notice.

Arthala is for people who would rather be understood than noticed. Though, in fairness, our pieces tend to manage both.

It is for those who carry their roots lightly, their humour dryly and their opinions quietly, and who rather enjoy being asked what their shirt means.

If it doesn't mean something, we don't make it.

Everything else is just cotton.

Made in India. Made to order.