Kamthala Designed in Bangladesh. Made in Europe.
The ekn Kamthala brings two worlds together. The modern sneaker with clean lines combined with exotic colors and traditional patterns - inspired by the designer's homeland: Bangladesh. The wedge sole and yellow highlights were created in reference to a ripe jackfruit. The spiky look of the fruit is picked up at the front, but the rest of the shoe is a textured gray - like the bark of the jackfruit tree. The result is a stylish sneaker for everyday wear with an unique and completely unseen design. The shoe is handmade in Portugal with vegan materials and guarantees durability and absolute comfort. The EVA sole, made from recycled materials and recycled chloroprene rubber, provides responsive cushioning and long-lasting lightness when walking.
- recycled artificial leather upper with recycled neoprene
- lining from recycled neoprene and mesh
- removable insole
The idea
The Kamthala is a bold, creative statement towards the industry to rethink how they deal with the Global South: it’s a call to the fashion industry to stop inhumane manufacturing practices in developing countries and also to promote the creative output of talent outside the industrialized countries. We want to fundamentally turn the usual paradigm of "designed in the global north, made in the global south" upside down. And we're doing exactly this with our new sneaker.
Meet Rokaiya Ahmed Purna
Rokaiya Ahmed Purna is an ambitious young fashion designer from Bangladesh. She brings her cultural background into all of her work artistically.
Rokaiya is committed to various topics in her home country. For example, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. But also responsible consumption and production are areas in which she’s strongly committed.
Inspired by the jackfruit
The vegan limited edition of ekn Kamthala is also named after a tree. In fact, it’s named after the jackfruit tree - the national fruit of Bangladesh. For designer Rokaiya, the tree she links with her childhood. You can feel that in her design:
Yellow color accents and the sole are reminding of a ripe jackfruit. Also, the front part of the shoe picks up the typical spiky optics. Even the bark of the tree can be found in the textured gray.
Our cause
Sure, we want to establish fair and sustainably produced sneakers even further as fashion pieces and show the world that things can be different.
The more we are happy that with our ekn Kamthala we not only drive forward slow fashion, but also support Rokayia's topics. Because 100% of the revenue from our stylish sneaker go directly into her projects in Bangladesh and thus forms the financial foundation. For example, for her creative hub in Dhaka - a workplace for young creatives.
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* applies to deliveries within Germany, delivery times for other countries can be found in the information on shipping costs