Using culture as a context to design, MAKA Collective launched its first collection during the stillness of the pandemic — a time that made room for slower thinking and new ways of dressing. Kalgaw drew from folk inspiration and the unhurried rhythm of provincial afternoons: siestas, lazy light, the ease of being home.

The "Zoom bib" became the anchor piece — a practical response to a world suddenly living on screen — but the collection was really about something quieter. The idea that heritage belongs to everyone, that basic luxury means owning a piece of where you come from.