February 11, 2026

Cellotape Talks with BODEMENTS, Divya Saini

“The future lies in communities”: Interview with designer Divya Saini

She has transformed her love for vintage pieces into a committed fashion brand, advocating a slow, conscious approach deeply rooted in India’s textile heritage. We meet Divya Saini, founder of Bodements, for whom design is first and foremost a communal and cultural language.

Words & Interview by Tova Bach

Cellotape: Can you introduce yourself and explain the vision behind Bodements?

Divya: I am a fashion entrepreneur, creative director, and the founder of Bodements.
“Bodements” means prophecy in archaic English. From the beginning, I wanted the design ethos to reflect the prophecy of a new future in fashion: one-of-a-kind, slow and conscious. Bodements reflects my personality, but also many other personalities that demand to stand out and be unique. We only use pure fabrics, like silks, cottons and biodegradable materials. The goal, of course, is to embody this new future of fashion: one driven by craftsmanship and storytelling, and by meaningful production rather than mass consumption.

Cellotape: Bodements first emerged from your interest in vintage pieces. How did the brand move from curation to creation over time?

Divya: It began as a vintage store where I curated pieces from Paris and brought them back to Mumbai. We were among the first brands to introduce vintage fashion to India, where it didn’t really exist at the time. Bodements was born simply out of love rather than a business plan. After the pandemic, we naturally shifted from curating to creating. It then evolved into an atelier and design house celebrating conscious fashion. Each piece is entirely one-of-a-kind. Antique archival fabrics and forgotten textiles are layered with different crafts, techniques and hands.

Cellotape: How has your experience in Paris influenced your creative vision and approach to design? Did you develop a connection with the city?

Divya: Paris was my first stop in Europe. I remember finding myself in a vintage store years ago and feeling naturally drawn to it. As a stylist, I was already observing how cyclical the fashion industry is, and how brands constantly draw from archival collections. Vintage pieces already exist and there is nothing more sustainable than reuse. This idea became the seed of Bodements, as a response to mindless consumption and production.

My connection to Paris felt very natural. The city inspired me through its music, food, art, people singing in the streets, the architecture and the way the light falls at night. It was all so different from Mumbai. The brand is almost a marriage between these two major cities, with many similarities yet completely different energies.

Cellotape: Bodements is deeply rooted in India’s textile heritage. Can you share examples of collaborations with local artisans or ways you’ve incorporated traditional techniques?

Divya: In the past, we worked exclusively with Indian fabrics that already existed, such as vintage silks, vintage sarees and dupattas. It was almost like returning from Parisian vintage to our own wardrobes and heritage pieces.

We are currently working with two clusters from Kutch [a desert district in the state of Gujarat, where a mosaic of tribal communities continues to preserve ancient traditions through clothing, craft and ritual]. Some of our one-of-a-kind pieces celebrate Kutch craftsmanship, drawing in particular from techniques developed by the Rabari community [a nomadic pastoral people partly based in the region]. Their embroidery is deeply symbolic: every motif carries meaning and forms part of a visual language traditionally used by tribes to communicate.

We are also developing projects aimed at reviving endangered crafts, sometimes practised today by only a handful of artisans. Our intention is to collaborate with local communities and non-profits to teach, preserve and incorporate these techniques into our future collections.

Cellotape: Alongside this commitment to preserving traditional knowledge and practices, you also collaborate with NGOs such as Craftizen and Iro Iro. How do these partnerships take shape in practice?

Divya: When a garment is made, its patterns inevitably produce leftover fabric, which is considered waste. Our aim is not to generate waste, so we send these katran [fabric scraps] to different NGOs. We have a long-standing partnership with Craftizen, which works with underprivileged women from various communities. They hand-embroide our organic cotton labels and create small items such as pouches, fans and hats, which we gift with every purchase. Iro Iro Zero Waste has also woven an entirely new fabric from our discarded textiles. We plan to use this regenerated material in a future project.

Cellotape: Why is honouring traditional crafts and supporting artisan communities so important to you?

Divya: I believe the future lies in communities. The modern idea of being alone and separate is relatively recent. People used to grow up within communities, and the world progresses when we learn to work collectively.

Fashion is simply my medium of expression. India is incredibly rich in craft, yet many techniques are disappearing, and I feel a responsibility to help preserve them. For years, global brands have drawn inspiration from Indian craftsmanship, but only recently have Indians themselves begun to reclaim pride in this heritage. Today, the world is looking towards the East, and we are in the centre.

BODEMENTS

Cellotape: Your work draws heavily on traditional craftsmanship, yet feels resolutely contemporary. How do you navigate that balance and make these references resonate internationally?

Divya: By blending my experiences of travelling around the world with my Indian roots. Bodements’ aesthetic is global and contemporary, while our fabrics and prints are Indian. This approach has existed for centuries among international designers, and today a new generation is emerging with its own storytelling and visual language. Then, it’s simply about play. Every time you create something new, you play.

India is an extremely colourful country. Every frame in Bombay is an explosion of colour, and when you grow up in that environment, a bright yellow next to a bright blue feels completely natural. Globally, however, people are growing tired of black, white and grey. Many fashion houses are now embracing colour again, even in autumn and winter collections.

Cellotape: Bodements seems to extend beyond fashion, engaging with craftsmanship, accessories and cultural events. How does the brand position itself within a broader creative ecosystem?

Divya: When I started Bodements, I didn’t see it as a fashion house at all. It had no fixed shape. It was a community, something that could express itself through furniture, fashion, music or art. The idea was to create a cultural space, a medium of cultural expression emerging from India.

Today, we host cultural events in our studio, inviting artists and designers to collaborate and share ideas. We recently organised an event in Berlin and are planning others in Dubai and Hong Kong. The aim is to build a cultural space that celebrates craft, culture and heritage, whether you are Indian or not.