India, We Are KAL, Handwoven Natural Fibre Textiles

Founded in 2014 by Catherine Allié and Tsering Angtak, We Are KAL is a textile brand rooted in the mountains of Ladakh and Assam. Their journey began when Catherine, researching India’s traditional textile practices, met Angtak in Kharnak, a remote region of Changthang, while sourcing wool from his nomadic community. Together, they built We Are KAL around a simple connection between people, place, natural fibres, and traditional knowledge.

Named after the Hindi word for both yesterday and tomorrow, We Are KAL brings ancestral skills into a more conscious future. Working closely with nomadic communities and artisans, the studio celebrates the character of each fibre and the subtle variations created by hand.

Their textiles use yak wool sourced from nomadic communities of Changthang, alongside sheep and lambswool from Ladakh and eri silk from Assam, a peace silk harvested after the moth has naturally left its cocoon. Fibres are sorted, washed, carded, hand-spun, and woven using backstrap and fly-shuttle looms, while natural dyes derived from teak leaves, henna, jackfruit bark, and Indian madder create nuanced colour.

For We Are KAL, irregularities are not imperfections but evidence of making. Through direct collaboration and locally sourced materials, the studio sustains both livelihoods and living textile traditions — creating cloth that carries the landscape, knowledge, and hands of Ladakh and Assam.