The women (and men!) behind India's Samor

As new Indian brand Samor makes it debut on shopthemag.com this week, we catch up with Megha Samor (daughter of Pragya Samor) of the mother-daughter team behind the label.

Here’s a curious thing we’ve noticed – the tailors and sewing staff in your workshop are all men!

Yes, all our tailors and embroiderers are male. It’s a rather common thing here in India actually. We rarely have women tailors.

That’s fascinating. In most parts of the world, from Vietnam to Russia, a clothing workshop is filled with women.

Not in India! Perhaps it’s because in the earlier days women weren't allowed to work in India so all kinds of jobs were taken on by the men. India has always been a textile hub so there was always demand for people to do jobs such as sewing and tailoring in factories and workshops. And since women weren't allowed to work outside their homes, these skills were passed down from father to son, thereby making sewing primarily a man’s job in India today!

What made you and your mum want to start Samor?

My mother has been in the line of fashion for 14 years so I basically grew up being surrounded by fabrics and embroideries. Once I graduated from a fashion institute, it was only natural for me to want to join my mother and start a brand that is distinctive and creative.

Our clothes reflect that sense of self-confidence and coolness that women today possess. We design for women who are assertive yet feminine.

Both the Racer-back Dress with Velvet trimming and Printed Maxi Dress are made using vegetable-dyed fabrics. Can you tell us more about vegetable dyes?

As a basic introduction, vegetable dyes or colorants are derived from plants, invertebrates or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes that come from plant sources like roots, berries, bark, leaves, wood and other organic sources such as fungi and lichens.

Natural dyes have been said to possess pharmacological effects and possible health benefits. We love using them because they are environmental friendly – they are biodegradable and therefore cause no disposal problems. And the best thing about them is that they do not stain the adjacent fabrics in the washing process because of the non-substantive nature of the dye towards the fabric.