The Summer House

The Summer House makes airy, minimal clothing from handwoven and natural-fibre cloth, designed to be worn for years rather than a season.

It was founded by Rekha Datla and Shivangini Padhiyar in 2015, out of a shared wish for purity, simplicity, and the kind of craftsmanship that used to be ordinary. Shivangini had memories of living among the hills with her grandmother, in a life set to slower rhythms and carefully made things; the label began as an attempt to hold that alongside a modern wardrobe.

Rather than chasing what is current, The Summer House builds garments meant to endure in both style and construction. The silhouettes are graceful and thoughtfully detailed without being ornate. The design philosophy is minimalism, slow living, and clothes that stay.

Materials, in the brand's words: natural fibres dominate, with a preference for handwoven cloth, organic cotton and ethical Tencel, and regenerated ECONYL for swimwear.

On dyeing, the brand states that its fabrics are dyed in facilities with wastewater management in place, that it avoids harmful chemicals including azo dyes, and that it favours undyed or minimally processed textiles where it can.

Craft: the brand works directly with rural artisans and through NGOs across around seventeen craft clusters, on handwoven textiles, block prints, smocking and embroidery — describing the aim as keeping these crafts alive as living practices rather than museum pieces.

People: a written code of conduct, minimum wage with timely payment, safe conditions, reasonable hours, public holidays and non-discriminatory practice. Production units the brand describes as "well paid, stress free — not a factory."

Packaging: cloth and paper bags only, with no single-use plastic and no non-recyclable multi-material plastic.