Matka is a kind of handwoven rough silk and that is where our name comes from. Matka silk got its name from the ancient Indian clay pot used in its production. After the label’s launch, we were very pleased to find out that Matka also means ‘mother’ in Polish, ‘journey’ in Finnish and ‘womb’ in Macedonian.

“MATKA was unexpectedly conceived during my first trip to Nepal in 2014. I consider it a very personal project focused on provenance, materia (lat. matter/material), and shape. It grows and evolves organically and it neither follows trends nor the rules set by the industry, such as producing seasonal collections or doing sales.” 

— Founder Cecilia Portela

PROVENANCE

At Matka, we work directly with the local weavers, dyers, and tailors.

This allows us to control the entire making process, in terms of working conditions, wages, and the quality of the final product.

LIMITED EDITIONS

We are actively against mass production.

All our garments are individually hand cut by our master tailor Binod in Kathmandu, Nepal.

PERMANENT ONGOING COLLECTION

We nurture one unique collection, slowly introducing new pieces as we come up with new materials and ideas.

BIODEGRADABLE

We work exclusively with 100% natural fibres, most of them hand woven in traditional looms.

All our buttons are made with hand carved and hand polished water buffalo bone, sourced in the Nepalese riverbanks.

THOUGHTFUL DESIGNS

Our aim is to create timeless, versatile, long lasting pieces, governed by quality over quantity.

We try our best to go as much zero waste as possible.

ETHOS

We strongly believe that the seasonal calendar dictated by the fashion industry is obsolete and we encourage other labels to stop producing in that manner.

We respect and value craftsmanship and promote conscious consumption.