Gundi Studios Is the Rising Label Empowering Outspoken South Asian Women
We speak to founder Tasha Sumant about the brand’s journey so far and recent PFW showcase, “Can You Cook?”
For many Desi women across the globe, the phrase “Can you cook?” is one that we’re all too familiar with. Despite countless achievements both professionally and personally, in South Asian culture, it’s still the same domestic talents that are regarded more highly than everything else. It’s this concept which underpinned the Fall/Winter 2025 collection from Gundi Studios, a rising clothing label created by New York-based designer Tasha Sumant.
Presented during Paris Fashion Week, the showcase, also titled “Can You Cook?” aimed to highlight the judgement that our South Asian culture still upholds, offering a satirical take on its often outdated norms. Crafted in collaboration with female artisans in India, the collection took guests through the idealized chapters of a woman’s life, from childhood days at school to entering the working world, culminating in the “ultimate achievement” of marriage and childbirth. Closing the show was a “bride with childbearing hips,” acting as an embodiment of the “final” perceived milestone of her life.
Following the show, we caught up with Sumant to find out more about the brand’s journey so far, the decision to showcase in Paris and most excitingly: what the future holds for Gundi Studios.
Read on for the full interview.
Tell me a bit about how Gundi Studios came about.
Gundi Studios was born from the feeling that there wasn’t really a brand that celebrated this kind of misfit girl in Asian culture. Working as an art director in New York when I was starting Gundi I felt that there wasn’t much out there for women who looked like me. I started the brand by selling embroidered patches that I would pin on vintage jackets since then it has grown into this amazing ecosystem where we not only make clothes that speak to this type of woman but support and work with several female artisans around India. Today, we have a studio that operates out of Paris, a base in NYC where we started and a great network of female artisans around India.
Last week, the brand presented its Fall Winter 2025 collection during PFW. Why Paris?
We recently moved our HQ to Paris, it has been a great place for us as a young brand to be able to build out a studio and collaborate with young creatives here to help grow our brand and take our work to a new level. The appreciation for handmade and craft is something I love about France and its deep relationships with makers in India have helped our operations so much and in building out our atelier. Paris is also just such a melting pot right now, and showing here feels important to be part of a larger conversation about luxury. We are also super blessed to have done it in the Pierre-Alain Chalier art gallery surrounded by Parvine Curie’s work which, much like our textiles, takes inspiration from traditional forms, so it was the perfect setting for us!
The collection was titled “Can You Cook?” What’s the significance of that title?
I like to explore different themes that affect my community and the artisans. This collection is a reflection on my growth and evolution as a woman and the subliminal messages around worth that have been taught to me my whole life. I titled this collection, “Can you cook?” as a satire around the fact that often the world around me didn’t care about my achievements but just if I was useful in servitude to someone. An archaic question my far-flung relatives like to pose to me when we meet.
As I designed this collection I thought about the types of clothes we wear, the stages in a woman’s life – girlhood in baggy tees playing football with the boys in little shorts, sneaking into the forest in boarding school in our uniforms to smoke a cigarette, clean cuts in the corporate world, wanting to be taken more seriously, followed by fights with our female relatives over the style of wedding dress we want to wear. The stages don’t just live in me, but also in the materials of these pieces which were made in collaboration with women around India of different ages and economic backgrounds.
From young 20-something-year-olds in Kutch who are the first female weavers in their village making their own income to a group of grandmas in the Himalayas who come together once a week to hand knit and embroider sweaters with the wool of their pet sheep. Every single one of them has been measured not by the economic value or achievement they pose but by how useful they can be to others, and their stories are woven into every step of our garment-making process.
What do you hope that people will take away from this collection?
As with any art, I hope that people feel seen from this collection and also can see the ways in which we can push the boundaries of craft in India and working with female indigenous artisans. And of course, cute outfits that bring joy to people’s everyday lives!
How do you see the future of Gundi Studios evolving? What’s next for you and the brand?
We are hoping to soon have a store in Paris and now have a lot more retail partners which is super exciting. A couple of years ago we were a small DTC brand, so growth is great. We’re hoping to just grow our team, make more work with other indigenous groups and create impact on every level of the supply chain!
