Seek Collective

Feb 12, 2020 / Photo: Courtesy of Seek Collective

After graduating from Parsons School of Design and spending years working for large corporate fashion companies, Carol Miltimore decided to participate in an artist residency in India that changed the course of her career.

“While there I traveled all over the country meeting with various textile communities and artisans,” she explained. “Seek Collective was born out of my desire to find a way to produce clothing in a way that is transparent to the process of making clothing, mindful of environmental impacts, and supportive of the people and communities who are involved in production.”

Seek Collective blends “art, craft, and design” to create luxurious, sustainable items made by artisans in India. Designed in Brooklyn and Berkeley, California, the brand’s pieces are made through ethical partnerships and utilize traditional techniques. 

To establish a mindful network for her brand, Miltimore spent several years traveling to India and forming relationships with local communities. 

“My process has been slow and at times grueling but seeing where it has led me to an incredible group of talented people who produce is such responsible and sustainable ways and who  I trust makes it all worth it,” she said. “Development for sampling and production takes time as all of the Seek's processes are hand done and it can take two months just to get a fabric handloom woven. It is truly slow fashion.”

Seek’s bright beautiful pieces are punctuated with playful prints. The clothes are wearable but special, with colors and cuts that celebrate the techniques used to make them. The brand also kicked off the year with a new partnership with One Tree Planted, so each item that is sold is converted to one tree planted. 

“As always, I'm always trying to find ways in which we can improve at Seek, including listening to what our customers have to say and also striving to be ever more environmentally and socially responsible with our production chain,” Miltimore said.

More about Seek Collective can be found here.