It’s been a busy few months for Rourkela-born Vivek Agarwal, the designer behind OOKIOH. Agarwal, who splits his time between Rourkela and Los Angeles, launched OOKIOH, pronounced o͞okēō, a play on the Japanese word Ukiyo (the pleasure-seeking lifestyle of the Edo Japan period) in 2018, previously had careers in engineering, steel and real estate.
After noticing a gap in the market, Agarwal decided to pursue his passion, and start a swimwear label dedicated to sustainability practices. OOKIOH pledges to be pre-consumer plastic-free by 2022 and uses yarn made from wastes such as sunken fishing nets from oceans and aquaculture and other fabric scraps destined for landfill.
