As a writer, I hardly ever had a favourite piece of writing. Ask me for a favourite book, and I’ll give you a list that spans genres, languages, and phases of life. Ask me about a feature I’ve loved, and I’ll ask you ‘From when?’. Favourites for me have always been in flux, shifting alongside my emotional and intellectual state. But there is one exception. Since high school, I’ve had a favourite poem: ‘Ode’ by Arthur O’Shaughnessy. I don’t remember exactly how I first encountered it - maybe while looking up the origin of the phrase ‘movers and shakers’, or hearing Gene Wilder quoting its opening lines in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory: “We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.” What I do remember is how it stayed with me. So when I came across the fashion label Ode from Kolkata, the name felt like personal alignment; I was meant to encounter their work and write about it. In digging deeper to know about the brand, its tenets resonated with me on a personal perspective - of being steadfast in one’s cause.
A homegrown brand founded by designer duo Oindrila and Arka, Ode began with a season-less collection titled Borno - the Bengali alphabet, and the language of the founders’ world. That debut collection laid the framework for the label. Sustainability was not an aesthetic or a fad for Ode from inception, but rather a system that treated garments like letters: modular, repeatable, meant to be returned to, rather than consumed and discarded. That philosophy continues to guide the label today, even in their latest offering, Season ’26: 'Looming In'.
While both founders of the brand are NIFT graduates, their paths began differently: Oindrila with fashion design, and Arka in communication design. But the label emerged from their meeting point, where clothing is not just worn but lived in, and carries identity and story. Each garment speaks to emotion, labour, and cultural memory. Looming In is subtle in how it anchors the core qualities of the Ode as a label - handwoven fine cotton that feels breathable and lived-in, checks and stripes with irregularities typical of handmade products, and embroidery appearing intentionally rather than decoratively. The silhouettes are intentionally relaxed: flowing maxi dresses, gathered tops, tunics that move freely. The collection feels timeless, and no details feel excessive.
The colour palette is earthy and nature-inspired: soft whites, deep indigo, hues of yellow, pink, and greens. These aren’t chosen because Butter Yellow or Cloud Dancer white are trendy; they feel drawn from landscapes and memory. This resistance to trendiness is perhaps done in favour of longevity, offering garments meant to be lived in and grow with, rather than to be worn for a season or two. The imagery around this collection reinforces this ethos. Shot outdoors against ageing walls, water bodies, fields, and courtyards - the clothes are placed within everyday environments rather than styled out of context in grand locations. Models are not posed for spectacle, and the pieces don’t scream for attention, but rather find their place quietly.
This restraint mirrors Ode’s approach to craft. The label works closely with weavers, tailors, and embroiderers from across Bengal, maintaining long-term relationships built on trust. Craft is not treated as surface detail, but as fundamental. Each piece carries traces of the hands that made it, right down to the slight inconsistencies that Ode chooses not to erase. Ode’s commitment to conscious production extends beyond materials into process. From sourcing fabrics and developing motifs to tailoring and finishing, every garment moves through a slow, considered system. These are clothes designed to endure - meant to be repaired, revisited, and cherished in one’s personal wardrobe. In recent years, the label’s clarity of purpose has begun to resonate globally. Ode’s showcase at Who’s Next Paris marks an important moment for the brand, introducing their work to an international audience receptive to craft-led, intention-driven fashion.
O’Shaughnessy’s poem, that is my favourite, frames the dreamer as a world-shaper through persistence and imagination. Ode The Label seems to operate from a similar place. By choosing slowness, craft, and clarity in intent, the brand reminds us that fashion doesn’t always need to disrupt to matter. Sometimes, it simply needs to loom in, day in and day out - steadily, thoughtfully, and with care.
You can follow Ode The Label here.
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