About Us

Payal Parekh Bugbee was born in Mumbai and spent a decade in New York City where she studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology while assisting top line commercial and portrait photographers. In those years, she developed her own fashion and documentary photography.

As a child in India, Payal grew up observing the work of her father, Bharat Parekh, a self-taught textile designer and manufacturer of premium fine-printed silks for the last 45 years. At 17 years old, and without any formal training in textiles or design, he started his printing business from a cardboard box. Decades later he would earn world-class recognition for his print skill and design. This early exposure to innovative craftsmanship, exquisite color combinations and the art of traditional silkscreen printing happening daily in her family-owned factory, enriched Payal’s vision moving forward in life.

Today she draws inspiration from across seven seas through the travels that she and her husband, global health photographer Geoff Oliver Bugbee, have experienced together.

Fashion for Payal is not about status or the price of a product. Instead, the importance lies in the story behind the intention, concept and making of each individual product. She has a commitment to bringing forward the human dimension of artisan clothing and accessories. ‘Showing and knowing’ is what she likes to call it.

“In today’s manufacturing world, where mega machines are employed to produce high volume while cutting costs, there seems to be a real disconnect between the soul of the clothing and the consumer,” said Payal. “I want to stay with the original storyline of artisanship and keep a transparent channel open on our wearable products.”