MIRTH was founded in 2016 by sisters Katie McClure and Erin McClure Breen, who have always loved a good caftan.
Our story starts in India in 2014.
India has the ability to welcome you with a complete departure from anything you know. It is a thrilling mix of brilliant color, new tastes, deep history, rich culture, stunning landscapes and connected experiences with the people you meet. We didn't leave India the same as we arrived.
Like so many, life’s stumbles led us to a time of travel + exploration. We landed in India together in July of 2014. Though Katie had the idea of MIRTH years prior after discovering handmade batik worlships in Bali and (unsuccessfully) trying to find all-day appropriate caftans, this trip served as the final catalyst for MIRTH, which launched 2 years later.
What exactly inspired us isn't clear. It was the foggy hills of Dehradun and the boy in the temple down the road in Shahpura. It was the driver in Uddaipur who became our uncle and the block printer who we shared a day with in the mustard fields of Bagru. They all helped us find our way to MIRTH. After a day hunting for textiles in the magical city of Jaipur, MIRTH was born, named after the feeling of pure happiness we both felt after deciding to pursue this new adventure. We went to India a bit lost, and left found. Literally, we could not hold back our mirth from then on. We kept coming back to this idea that encompassed the things we loved—creativity, travel, unforced style, and doing something that matters-- and finally concluded we couldn’t rest until we at least tried it.
MIRTH started as a line of caftans and quickly expanded into a full line of women's contemporary ready to wear, wtih resort roots. Using mostly handmade fabrics, sourced from artisan communities all over India that specialize in specific textile techniques, each piece has a story of the many hands that made them, and a purpose beyond clothing. Comfort and ease is at the heart of MIRTH, and the natural fiber textiles only get better with age.
Keeping with the spirit of supporting heritage craft and artisans in developing countries, MIRTH expanded into Peruvian knitwear in 2022.
It is crucial to MIRTH that we approach our work with a socially conscious spirit. With a modern take on traditional textiles, like handloom weaving and abstract block printing, our mission is to help sustain and celebrate craft and provide opportunity and meaningful, ethical employment to artisans in developing countries. We aim to be positive influences for creators and buyers in an effort to provide a source of joy and mirth to everyone along the way.
MIRTH is based in Houston, Texas.
This is us! Katie on the left, and Erin on the right, circa 1982.
