A single scroll through Bianca Kuttickattu’s Instagram reveals her predilection for the arts. Raised by creatively-inclined parents, a dancer mother and an actor-director stepfather—Namai’s founder was surrounded by creativity from the outset. The eldest of four siblings, her diverse and culturally rich upbringing guided her towards an enterprising career at prolific fashion houses, including Celine, Acne, and Maison Margiela.Kuttickattu’s artistic leanings began early. As a child, Easter days were spent painting and decorating eggs with her siblings, and autumn nights creating tissue paper lanterns with candles that would illuminate their countryside walks. “Everyday life had this innate sense of magic and creativity,” she says. By her teens, she was combing through the shelves of vintage shops to recreate the latest trends, learning to sew on her mother’s hand-operated machine, making her own clothes, and even piecing together a quilt from old jackets—subconsciously planting the seeds of her passion for upcycling.Stephan SchacherStudying fashion professionally felt natural. After an undergraduate degree at the London College of Fashion and later at Middlesex University in North London, she started off as a designer in London. But it was after her master’s degree at the Institut Français de la Mode in Paris, that opened doors to work at storied fashion houses under legendary designers including Jean Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld, and Repetto. She also gained a hands-on introduction to footwear design, touring the renowned factories of Robert Clergerie and Charles Jourdan in Romans, France. Thrifting remained central to her design process as she often gathered unique pieces, and deconstructed and reassembled them on herself or a mannequin, using these experiments to spark fresh ideas. “I thought I’d reinvent myself at IFM, but instead, I came to understand the designer I already was,” she reflects.Her journey toward sustainability took on new meaning during an internship with the Rio de Janeiro-based NGO, Moda Fusion. “I quickly picked up Portuguese and collaborated with women in favelas at a sewing cooperative. Together, we designed a collection, and I taught them pattern-cutting and design techniques,” she shares. Using eco-conscious materials like recycled PET and bamboo, they presented the collection with a show featuring local models and musicians—one of her most impactful experiences to date, a moment when fashion’s power to drive change felt like reality.Stephan SchacherStephan SchacherFrom there, she moved to an internship at Maison Martin Margiela’s Paris atelier, where she was one of only three students to witness Margiela’s final season with the house. “The couture line was all about upcycling, using materials sourced from secondhand shops around Paris but crafted with couture precision. I watched as couturiers transformed old jeans into jackets with hand-sewn shoulder pads and created another, entirely from human hair wigs,” she recollects. At Margiela, Kuttickattu contributed to a striking dress adorned with oversized sequins made from cut-up old vinyl 45 records, each piece carefully shaped around the body. The house had even employed a team member who scoured Paris for unique materials to complete each couture piece—lessons in craftsmanship that deeply moulded her perspective on sustainability.