How often would you spend €1,500 on a coat that carries a stain, not by accident, but by design? That question came to me when I discovered HOUSE of ZAZI, a slow fashion label that honours heritage, culture, and the women who give it life. Renowned for its coats crafted from vintage textiles (some even over a hundred years old), ZAZI chooses to embrace each of its unique surface details, from tiny stains to uneven stitching. The brand believes these are not imperfections, but stories woven into the fabric and symbols of each textile’s journey. In a world obsessed with overconsumption and rapidly changing trends, the brand is creating something truly magical here.
HOUSE of ZAZI was started by 27-year-old (at the time) Jeanne de Kroon during a rough patch in her career. Feeling lost, uninspired, and overwhelmed by the artificiality of the world we live in, she yearned for something deeper. On a trip to India, Jeanne’s destiny had her cross paths with Madhu Vaishnav, the founder of Saheli Women; a non-profit organisation in rural India that focuses on women empowerment, who was also just getting started at the time.
In the beautiful Indian state of Rajasthan, known globally for its vibrant textiles, the two began creating together. Jeanne sketched dress designs on napkins, supplied recycled Ikat fabric she had personally collected, and worked with a sari tailor. Together with a group of Saheli women, they created seven dresses. She then took the finished pieces back to Europe, with the aim of bringing them international attention. From there, House of ZAZI became a bridge between the two worlds, connecting ancestral craftsmanship to the modern fashion industry. What began with seven dresses, €500 in savings, and a yoga mat for an ironing board has grown into a global brand collaborating with over 652 female artisans in regions such as India, Nepal, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Peru, and beyond.
Jeanne’s journey shows how fashion can be both beautiful and transformative. From a business standpoint, the brand’s most distinguishing factor is its concept of community building, not just with its audience and followers, but also through a transparent supply chain and by empowering the women behind the beautiful coats.
In a world dominated by mass production, fast-fashion brands churn out garments at breakneck speed. Shein alone adds 2,000 new items per day, often testing designs in batches of 50 to 100 before mass production. It’s a high-volume, low-cost business model that relies on overproduction, aggressive trend cycles, and minimal transparency. The fashion industry produces over 100 billion garments annually, with women forming over 85% of its workforce, yet women own almost none of the capital. Against this landscape, ZAZI’s business model offers an alternative that prioritises sustainability and women empowerment.
The signature coat of ZAZI has its fabric sourced from a community of women who live in the foothills of the Himalayas, called the Kulluvi women. On a trip to Nepal, Jeanne met this small community of weavers surrounded by the pristine Himalayan rainforests. For them, weaving isn’t a business but rather considered a sacred practice, a love letter to the land, the ancestors, and the seasons. Weaving is a slow process. The wool is sourced from indigenous shepherds, washed in Himalayan waters, and dyed with plants that reflect the cycles of nature. It’s not just sustainable; it’s regenerative. It is their livelihood.
As a young Indian who has personally witnessed the Himalayan landscapes multiple times, I can completely understand how Jeanne must have felt. Most of these communities are self-sufficient. They produce their own food, weave their own clothes, and more often than not are completely disconnected from the outside world. Some might call it a nomadic lifestyle, but the purity in their way of living is something I find almost spiritual: the purest form of life, the purest hearts.
In an interview with Vogue, Jeanne said: “I fell in love with their stories and the small pieces of embroidery they had, from the 1800s to naturally dyed ikat. It completely changed my Western gaze and perception of the area to one of the craft, connectedness, and culture that I wanted to share. We are all now talking about circularity in fashion, but these communities have always been doing that; it’s how they have protected themselves and nurtured their land. Working with them feels like participating in something timeless, something deeply rooted in love for the earth. They also sing the most beautiful songs—they captured my heart in so many ways.”
For me, as a 21-year-old navigating life in Milan, ZAZI is a reminder that fashion as we know it is a form of self-expression. It does not have to be high end runway clothes or luxury bags. If you ask any girl what her favourite piece of clothing is in her wardrobe, more often than not she might pick out something with a story. It’s not about the brand or the price tag, but about the memory woven into it, the moment it became hers.
That’s what makes fashion meaningful, isn’t it? Not the perfection, but the connection. It’s our mother’s shirt that still smells like her perfume or the dress we found in a small alleyway in a foreign city. Clothing has always been born from women coming together in collaboration with community and culture. But somewhere along the line, we lost our connection to the process of creation. The fashion industry was built on this intimacy. We don’t know the hands that embroidered our clothes anymore. Nor do we think about the process of creation.
ZAZI is proof that fashion doesn’t need to follow high-end minimalism or exhausting trend cycles to matter. At its core, ZAZI is about giving women, especially those at the roots of the supply chain, social and financial independence through craftsmanship. And notably, a proportion of the cost of each coat funds a year of education for a girl in rural India through the NGO Institute for Philanthropy and Humanitarian Development (IPHD). A coat that warms more than one life. This business model feels quietly revolutionary. A simple idea that is currently not only curating beautiful fashion being worn by women across the globe but also contributing greatly to such an important cause.
I have been following their journey for almost a year now. As a young Indian woman, I understand the struggle for independence, the sacrifices made, and the dreams that remained dreams. I’ve seen this up close, through my own mother— her choices, her quiet strength, and the dreams she set aside so that I could chase mine. These are the invisible sacrifices that shape generations. Seeing a brand that channels these struggles into empowerment, that creates pathways for women to reclaim their independence through their craft, feels more than inspiring.
Recently one evening, while scrolling through Instagram, I saw the Saheli Women receive the Human Capital & Social Impact Award from @cameramoda at Milan Fashion Week. These women who had never stepped out of their home villages were now being celebrated in the fashion capital of the world. It nearly brought me to tears, reminding me of the power we have as young adults, the power to shape tomorrow.
From the foothills of the Himalayas to the boulevards of Paris, a ZAZI coat carries more than fabric. It carries faith, heritage, and hope. The most beautiful things aren’t perfect. Sometimes they’re the ones with the most flaws. So maybe the next time we shop, we ask can ask ourselves: what story does this carry? Who does it uplift? Because our decisions, even the smallest ones, can make a real difference. And maybe, just maybe, those stains aren’t marks at all. They’re signatures of the hands, hearts, and stories that made them.
Written by Ridhi Collin
Edited by Mae Lucie Panzani
Sources:
https://www.nssgclub.com/en/fashion/40075/zazi-mfw-interview-jeanne-de-kroon
https://www.irmasworld.com/a-global-player-jeanne-dekroon-of-zazi-couture-3291797
