# Boito (company)

Boito is an Indian slow fashion luxury brand founded by Richa Maheshwari in 2023. The brand is renowned for preserving the traditional handwoven textiles of Odisha, blending them into modern luxury designs.

## History

After visiting Odisha, engineer-turned-entrepreneur Richa Maheshwari founded Boito. During her visit, Maheshwari was deeply moved by the intricate craftsmanship and the cultural richness of the region’s indigenous weaves, such as the Bomkai and Khandua textiles. The brand emphasizes sustainability, using eco-friendly materials, and supporting traditional handloom weaving techniques that have been passed down for generations.
The name Boito is derived from the maritime festival ‘Boita Bandana’. The festival commemorates the voyage of the Sadhabas - an ancient community of affluent mariner merchants, who would sail to distant lands for trade and cultural exchange.

## Collections

At Boito, form follows fabric. The brand’s collections are designed to evoke cultural appreciation while exploring new possibilities in the realm of fashion. Working closely with artisans, traditional textiles are used to create contemporary luxury garments for a global audience - conscientiously designed to be heirloom pieces. Only minor tweaks to scale and colour are occasionally employed as textile design intervention. Boito focuses primarily on outerwear such as trench coats, jackets and kimonos - as they provide a larger canvas for the uniqueness of each textile to shine through.
* Bomkai: In a class of its own in terms of skill and intricacy, using both extra warp/weft and bandha techniques to achieve distinct jala designs.
* Habaspuri: Handloom tradition from Habaspur, Kalahandi district, which boasts of extra weft jala motifs. Only four looms currently remain, down from eighty 20 years ago.
* Kapdaganda: Shawls embroidered by the women of the Dongria Kondh community. The motifs represent the sacred Niyamgiris using three distinct shades of green, red and yellow - each with its own symbolism.
* Khandua: Employs the single ikat bandha resist dyeing technique whereby threads on the warp or weft of the handloom are tie-dyed prior to weaving, using a complex mathematical system to incorporate patterns.
* Kotpad: Distinct reds, maroons and browns achieved using natural dyes extracted from the roots of the local aal tree (Indian madder).
* Pipli: Involves vibrant appliqué work, stitching shaped fabric pieces onto a base to create intricate designs.
* Ringa: Traditionally made using fibre from the kerang tree (also known as jungle fibre), although now replaced by cotton. Ringas are woven on rudimentary looms, and worn as loincloths by women of the Bonda community.
* Sambalpuri: Double and single ikat bandha technique, where patterns are tied and dyed on to both warp and weft threads. Distinct weaves include Pasapalli - featuring the ancient game of pasa; and Utkal Lakshmi - representing Odisha as a prosperous land.

## Exhibitions

As a fashion label, Boito have taken a non-traditional approach to showcasing their garments - preferring art exhibits over fashion shows. The exhibitions have been cultural deep-dives into artisan communities, their stories and other crafts from Odisha. With a conscious choice to remain an online retail outlet, art shows also create alternative avenues for sales and promotion.
* India Art Fair - With support from the Devi Art Foundation, Boito brought an ambitious passion-project to life. The exhibit, entitled ‘Asareeri’, was a larger-than-life installation of the mythical Navagunjara. The creature is an amalgamation of nine different animals referenced only in the 15th century Odia retelling of the Mahabharata by Sarala Dasa. Boito’s exhibit used different crafts and textiles from Odisha to build each part of the composite being, including pipli applique work, pattachitra, papier-mache, kotpad textile, dhokra metal craft, bandha textile, ringa textile, sabai grass, coir craft and silver filigree work.
* Indigenous Fashion Futures: A Living Archive (February, 2025)- Presented by India Art Fair at Triveni Kala Sangam, ‘Indigenous Fashion Futures: A Living Archive’ was curated by Sreyansi Singh, in association with Fashion Design Council of India for the Young Collectors' Programme under India Art Fair. The show was a first-of-its-kind fashion exhibition highlighting indigenous fashion identities through contemporary design. Boito was one of four labels invited to exhibit, along with Johargram, 2112 Saldon and East.
* Whalesong, Goa (December, 2024 - January, 2025) - A retail exhibition and solo show at Goa’s Whalesong Art.Design Gallery entitled ‘Odisha in Ceremony: Ritual & practice from the land of artists’.
* Bikaner House, New Delhi (August, 2024) - An art exhibition in the ballroom of New Delhi’s famed Bikaner House, entitled ‘Odisha’s textile landscapes: Journeying through legacy & lore’. The show used photographs, textiles, craft, artefacts and stories to highlight the communities Boito collaborates with. The central display was a 21-foot long tactile boita.
* 47-A, Mumbai (December, 2023) - A heritage art and retail solo show at 47-A: Design Gallery, curated by Boito designer Anshu Arora. The exhibition was adapted from Boito’s launch at Kala Bhoomi.
* Kala Bhoomi, Bhubaneswar (November, 2023) - Boito’s launch at Kala Bhoomi Odisha Crafts Museum was entitled ‘Celebrating Odisha’s textile legacy. Joyfully, collectively, slowly. The exhibition featured Boito’s debut collection as installation pieces, photographs by Syed Zubair, Odisha crafts and artefacts, as well as a film by Anand Naik documenting team Boito’s first encounters with communities.