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This Dubai-based designer is building a sustainable fashion label between Italy, India, and the UAE
As Absent Findings gains momentum in Milan and the Middle East, its founder Shivin Singh reflects on sustainability and staying honest as a designer
- PUBLISHED: Tue 10 Feb 2026, 7:08 PM
Conceived in Florence, shaped by Indian heritage, and brought to life in Dubai, Absent Findings sits at the intersection of culture and craft. Founded by Dubai-based designer Shivin Singh, the contemporary fashion label has quickly carved out a distinct identity that blends South Asian references with modern silhouettes, while placing sustainability at its core. With collections crafted entirely from deadstock fabrics and heirloom saris, Absent Findings challenges the idea of newness in fashion, instead celebrating what already exists.
After training at Polimoda in Florence and working within Gucci’s Women’s Handbags department, Singh returned to the UAE to build the brand from the ground up. The result is a label that feels deeply personal yet globally relevant, earning recognition from platforms like Lineapelle, Milan Fashion Week, and the Black Carpet Awards, while remaining rooted in Dubai’s growing creative ecosystem.
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Absent Findings is fresh off its Dubai Fashion Week runway debut and is currently preparing for a digital showing at Milan Fashion Week FW26/27. In a chat with Khaleej Times, Singh reflects on heritage, craftsmanship, sustainability, and what it means to build a fashion label with honesty and intention, without trying to please everyone.
Absent Findings was conceived in Florence, inspired by India, and made in the UAE. How do these three places shape the brand’s identity, and where do you feel most creatively “at home” when you’re designing?
Absent Findings, at the stage of conceiving the brand and its narrative, was born in Florence. The first collection — My Personal References — was fully prototyped and sampled there as well. Having studied at Polimoda in Florence, my aesthetic sensibilities and values around craftsmanship are deeply rooted in the learnings and tastes I developed during my six years living there.
My Indian heritage also plays a central role. My mother is Bengali and my father is Punjabi — two extremely rich cultures that form the foundation of my cultural references. For example, I’m obsessed with reinterpreting the drape of a sari in contemporary ways that someone like me would genuinely want to wear. That comes from growing up watching my mother wear saris. Additionally, the architecture of Chandigarh by Le Corbusier is of significant importance to Absent Findings, particularly in shaping silhouettes and structural details. In that sense, India plays a foundational role in the vessel through which I view myself and my work.
Dubai, UAE, is where I grew up. I moved here in third grade, so my childhood, teenage years, and early adulthood all unfolded in Dubai. In many ways, it’s the reason I’m able to draw from so many different places and create a cohesive visual language for Absent Findings. I feel that kids who grow up in Dubai understand cultural nuance, internet culture, and global references extremely well, perhaps more than anywhere else I’ve lived. That has been incredibly influential. Dubai is also home: it’s where my family lives, where my dog is, and for the past year, where my studio is based.
What challenges did the sustainability approach present early on? And did it influence your design language rather than limiting it?
In fact, our collections are now made using 100 per cent deadstock fabrics. This was the most natural approach for me when it came to sourcing. While studying at Polimoda, I worked almost exclusively with deadstock fabrics, which allowed me to build a strong relationship with a deadstock stockist near Florence. I still source from them whenever I’m in Florence, usually once every two or three months.
This approach made sense to me because it offered convenience and the highest quality. The stockist carries excess fabrics from Italian and French luxury fashion houses. Using deadstock also allows artisanal, small fashion houses like ours to be more dynamic. We only have access to limited quantities of each fabric, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. That limitation forces us to keep experimenting, which is a core pillar of Absent Findings.
Alongside deadstock, I also upcycle heirloom saris from my own family. These saris carry immense stories and memories woven into them, and they’re incredibly beautiful fabrics that often sit in closets after just one or two wears. To me, that feels absurd. Giving them new life by making them contemporary — something someone like me would actually wear — feels both meaningful and necessary.
After your training, you went on to work at Gucci. What did that experience teach you about craftsmanship, and what did you intentionally choose not to carry forward into your own label?
After graduating from Polimoda, I worked in the Women’s Handbags Collection Merchandising Department at Gucci, which was a pivotal experience in my development as a designer. The role placed me between the designers and the business side, communicating insights such as which handbags performed well in previous seasons and how they could be iterated upon.
I was also deeply involved in tracking the entire sampling process, which meant I spent a lot of time in the ateliers, often more than the designers themselves. This gave me a profound understanding of craftsmanship at the level Gucci operates on.
The experience taught me that fashion is, by nature, a commercial pursuit — a notion I strongly resisted as a student. Like many fashion school students, I believed fashion should exist purely as a creative bubble. That perspective matured during my time at Gucci. Studying the house’s history and icons like the Jackie and the Bamboo bags made me realise that beauty lies in simplicity, and that creating something truly simple and elegant is incredibly difficult. Those are the designs that ultimately become timeless.
My time at Gucci directly influenced the creation of the Gallery Bag, which is truly a labour of love. Having been exposed to countless top-handle handbags — what I consider the most elegant category — I became frustrated by how formulaic many of them felt. That pushed me to design a radically different bag, not just in surface aesthetics but in how people physically interact with it. The result was a top handle unlike any other: a single, elegant handle connecting the back of the bag to the front. It’s a very simple solution, yet one that hadn’t been explored before.
What was the most important lesson you learned following your debut collection?
The most important lesson I learned after my first collection, My Personal References, was to trust my taste and sensibilities. Fashion, even with its financial realities, is unlike any other commercial pursuit. It’s much closer to the art world, where a distinct and honest vision is what’s truly valued.
At the same time, it’s crucial to remain humble and open to criticism from peers and mentors you trust. I learned how to listen to criticism without compromising my vision by genuinely understanding it and using it to make my ideas clearer and stronger, without any artifice.
Absent Findings has been gaining momentum in Milan. How does that validation from Italy compare to the response you’re seeing in the Middle East?
I’ve been very fortunate to receive recognition from industry leaders in Europe and from institutions with deep histories in fashion, such as Lineapelle and Milan Fashion Week. At the same time, being part of platforms like BRED Abu Dhabi and Sole DXB has been equally meaningful for us.
I feel incredibly grateful to act as a vessel for my inspirations and to communicate my vision with conviction and honesty. People seem to connect with that. But for me, external validation isn’t the point. I must believe in the work 100 per cent before seeking recognition from others. I’m always reaching out and building relationships, but it never feels like I’m asking for favours; it feels like I’m introducing people to something that could become their obsession, just as Absent Findings is mine.
Being 100 per cent made in the UAE is a great feat. Why was it important for you to base production here, and how do you see the UAE’s fashion ecosystem evolving for emerging designers?
From the very beginning, producing in the UAE was something I was determined to do. While the first collection was developed in Florence — largely because a close friend helped me with pattern making and technical aspects — we still produced the collection in Dubai.
Today, everything happens in-house: design, pattern making, draping, and sampling, all within my studio. That’s a dream. Every garment has been touched and worked on for hours by my pattern maker and me, and that’s something I’m incredibly proud of.
There are many strong visions emerging from the UAE, particularly within streetwear and skate-inspired culture. The community here is welcoming and open to new ideas, which is quite rare. Fashion in the UAE, and the wider region, is really finding its voice among the youth, and you can feel that energy through younger brands showcasing at Dubai Fashion Week, as well as in Riyadh and Qatar.
What does your next chapter look like?
Looking ahead, my only real goal is to stay inspired and continue working honestly. Absent Findings isn’t for everyone, and that’s completely fine. What matters to me is how our friends, the youth, the creatives, and the obsessives see us: as honest, singular, and always pushing forward. That’s perfect for me.
