Pratyush Kumar: Pieux

Pratyush Kumar’s journey is anything but ordinary. Once a science student on route to becoming a heart surgeon, he took an unexpected leap, trading the lab for the atelier. Later, he pursued fashion studies at Pearl Academy and a Master’s abroad, switching to a calling for design and garment creation. Now the founder of the luxury circular label Pieux, he has carved a name for himself in the world of upcycled fashion. What started as a shift from biology to design soon became a mission, making him a passionate individual, and a force in sustainable fashion. 

Making Upcycling Mainstream, Fashionable, and Impactful

Pratyush Kumar is committed to making impactful upcycled fashion. He does not believe in following trends but instead focuses on creating mindful, slow-made garments. His work promotes responsible fashion with the concept of modularity.

Watch "Let’s Talk Upcycling" by Refash, a podcast featuring founders in the upcycling space and sustainable voices. In episode 4 - "Revolutionizing Fashion with Carpets & Tech: Pratyush’s Pieux Journey,” get an in-depth look at his journey, vision, and creative process behind bringing sustainable luxury fashion to bigger stages using eco-friendly upcycled materials.

PIEUX: LUXURY CIRCULAR FASHION

Pieux is a French word that translates to pious or pure in English. It is an ethically produced label featuring an upcycled collection of womenswear, menswear, recycled footwear and modular eyewear. Through Pratyush Kumar's vision, Pieux is all set to inspire a more conscious fashion industry by exploring luxury with ethical practices and a deep respect for the environment and the resources. The brand considers the lifespan, materials, aesthetic value, and techniques of each creation, to minimize waste and maximize value at every step, from material procurement to packaging and a product's end-of-life.

Innovative Design at Pieux

• 3D-Printed Modular Eyewear – Assembled from non-toxic bio-materials, with replaceable parts that can be dismantled.
• Modular Footwear – Unique footwear made from recycled materials and upcycled carpet waste handloom textiles.
• Upcycled Garments – Made from surplus leftover textiles, carpet yarn, and recycled polyester from post-consumer PET bottles.

You can find some of the Pieux upcycled pieces available on Refash here.

(Pieux Collection on Refash - Left to Right: Cartex Woven Dress, Landscape Dress, Recycled Coord Set, Lavern Bomber Jacket)

Recognition & Awards

The winner of Grazia Young Fashion Awards 2024, recognised for innovative approach to luxury upcycling.

Circular Design Challenge 2022 – Winner (Lakmé Fashion Week x United Nations Partnership)

Pieux gained recognition on India’s largest sustainable fashion stage, winning the Circular Design Challenge 2022 at Lakmé Fashion Week in partnership with the United Nations. The winning collection was created entirely from deadstock fabrics and discarded carpet waste—materials often overlooked in mainstream fashion.

Pratyush Kumar has said that this victory expanded his reach as an eco-designer, introducing his work to a broader audience and solidifying Pieux’s place in the sustainable fashion industry. The collection has challenged conventional design and set new eco-standards for upcycling at scale.

Did you know that carpets are actually one of the least recycled materials, with many ending up in landfills, reported by the World Economic Forum. Aquafil, a company that produces recycled carpet yarn, has claimed that 91% of carpets end up in landfills due to their low reuse and recycling rates.

Pieux has developed collections using CARTEX, a handspun yarn made from carpet waste, working closely with local artisans to create sustainable textiles.

The Circular Design Challenge collection has made an unforgettable impact with its smart engineering and aesthetics, deconstructing older materials and repurposing them into contemporary, high-fashion sustainable pieces made from post-consumer waste and upcycled carpets.

Among their techniques, Pieux explored lenticular prints through pleats, creating the illusions within fabric folds. They combined precise pleating, weaving, eco-friendly digital printing, and 3D printing to enhance texture and visual dynamics in the garments.

In their work with Cartex textile, Pieux successfully upcycled approximately 125 kg of carpet waste. The collection also introduced one-of-a-kind footwear - the vegan modular sneakers assembled from various upcycled elements, like recycled plastic bottle fabric, polythene bag textile, the carpet textile, and other deadstock textile.

Finalist – 2025 Sustasia Fashion Prize On the way to achieving another milestone this year, Pratyush is one of the eight finalists for the Sustasia Fashion Prize 2025, which recognizes sustainable fashion design in Asia.

Modularity & The Future of Sustainability

Pieux stands on the foundation of circular materials in fashion, a necessity in a world of wasteful practices. Modularity and upcycling are no longer just concepts, they are the future of responsible fashion.