The idea behind ITOH was to introduce a new language of menswear in the Indian market, where Amit Babbar saw a huge scope for well-constructed garments, good quality fabrics and attention to detail. For Amit, construction and quality of fabric are essential to menswear, which led him to focus on classic silhouettes that are not impacted by trends and can be worn and re-worn. At the core of ITOH is also the idea of retaining the relevance of handloom while creating designs that are sophisticated and relevant to the present. With a collaboration with artisans and master weavers of West Bengal that goes back almost two decades, the label works with small capsules to give weavers and their families the time and flexibility needed to create the fabrics.
The Conception of ITOH
The idea behind the conception of ITOH was to introduce a new language of menswear in the Indian market where there was a huge scope in terms of getting a well constructed garment with good quality fabrics and attention towards detail. In my opinion, construction and quality of fabric are essential to menswear. I wanted to create classic silhouettes, not impacted by trends, articles that can be worn and re-worn. The work goes into creating modern, restrained and sophisticated articles from handwoven fabrics that are trans-seasonal and designed to stay clear of trends.
Relevant Menswear
The core idea behind the inception of ITOH was to retain the relevance of handloom while exploring its tremendous range of character to create designs that are restrained, sophisticated as well as relevant in today’s times. We wanted to challenge the limits of ordinary perception about handwoven textiles by making them a bit more than just purposeful.
Collaborating with Artisans
Handloom in India is a craft that is struggling to survive in the current global economy. Many young weavers and artisans are turning to power looms vying for more business as the turn-around-time is significantly higher and returns are quick and steady. On the other hand, certain clusters of weavers and their families still rely on this hand craft. The traditional handloom is a very slow and time consuming process which means collections can’t be churned out as they otherwise are expected to, which is why at ITOH we only do small capsules to give the artisans enough time and flexibility to create weaves. Our collaboration with artisans and master weavers of West Bengal goes back to almost two decades. We strive to support these families by continually encouraging them to experiment and create different yarn counts and compositions which is a design pre-requisite for us at ITOH.
Mustards, Dark Blues, Beiges & Maroons
The colours depend on the creative direction applied for that particular capsule. They are usually muted to lend restraint and simplicity. The idea is to create something that can be worn irrespective of trends or seasons making sure the clothing looks good on just about everyone and for any occasion. The fabrics are usually yarn dyed, depending on the requirement.
The Current & Upcoming
The focus is on using mostly hand-spun fabrics, playing with various textures and compositions with minimum design intervention making the garment last longer so the consumer appreciates its ageing. We’re also currently planning the next lot - FW’27. We're also working on the launch of exclusive ad-lib styles for our store in Mumbai.
Words Neeraja Srinivasan
Date 15.9.2026