Exploring Absent Findings: A Dubai Label Blending Culture and Sustainability
As Absent Findings continues to gain attention in Milan and across the Middle East, founder Shivin Singh remains focused on one thing: staying honest. The Dubai-based designer’s label sits quietly at the crossroads of culture, craft, and sustainability, shaped by Florence, rooted in Indian heritage, and built in the UAE.
Created using only deadstock fabrics and heirloom saris, Absent Findings questions fashion’s obsession with the new. Instead, it celebrates what already exists, turning memory, material, and restraint into its strongest design tools.
From Florence to Dubai
The foundations of Absent Findings were laid in Florence, where Singh studied at Polimoda and developed his first collection, My Personal References. Living in the city for six years shaped his understanding of craftsmanship, proportion, and restraint. Those early learnings continue to guide the brand’s visual language.
After graduating, Singh joined Gucci’s Women’s Handbags department, gaining firsthand experience in the balance between design and business. While the role deepened his respect for craft and process, it also reshaped how he viewed fashion as a commercial yet creative discipline.
Returning to Dubai, Singh built Absent Findings from the ground up, choosing the city not only as a base but as a creative anchor.
Heritage as a design lens
Indian culture plays a defining role in Singh’s work. With a Bengali mother and Punjabi father, his references draw from multiple traditions, textures, and rituals. One recurring motif is the sari, which he continues to reinterpret in modern forms, drawing on how his mother wore it.
Architecture also informs the brand’s structure. The modernist lines of Chandigarh, designed by Le Corbusier, influence silhouettes and construction, giving the garments a quiet strength and clarity.
Dubai, where Singh grew up, acts as the connector. Its mix of cultures, global awareness, and digital fluency allows him to blend references without forcing them. It is also home in the truest sense: family, studio, and daily life.
Sustainability as a starting point
From the beginning, sustainability was not a limitation but a natural choice. Absent Findings works exclusively with deadstock fabrics sourced from Italian and French luxury houses. Limited quantities push constant experimentation, ensuring no two collections feel the same.
Alongside this, Singh upcycles heirloom saris from his own family. These fabrics, rich with personal history, are transformed into contemporary pieces meant to be worn again, for Singh, allowing such materials to sit unused felt wasteful, both emotionally and creatively.
Lessons from Gucci
Working at Gucci taught Singh the value of simplicity. Tracking sampling processes and spending long hours in ateliers revealed how difficult true elegance is to achieve. He learned that timeless design often comes from restraint, not excess.
That lesson led directly to the creation of the Gallery Bag, one of Absent Findings’ most recognisable pieces. Designed with a single handle connecting the front and back, it challenges the traditional top-handle form while remaining understated and functional.
Trusting taste and instinct
Following his debut collection, Singh’s biggest takeaway was learning to trust his own sensibility. Fashion, he believes, rewards clarity of vision more than universal approval.
At the same time, he values thoughtful critique. Listening to trusted peers has helped refine his ideas without diluting them, strengthening the brand’s identity rather than softening it.
Recognition without compromise
Absent Findings has received growing recognition from European fashion platforms such as Lineapelle and Milan Fashion Week, alongside regional showcases like BRED Abu Dhabi and Sole DXB. For Singh, the validation is appreciated but not essential.
What matters more is belief in the work itself. Every collection must feel resolved and honest before it reaches an audience. Building relationships, he says, feels less like seeking approval and more like sharing an obsession.
Made entirely in the UAE
Producing in the UAE was a non-negotiable decision. While early development took place in Florence, all garments were manufactured in Dubai. Today, everything happens in-house, from draping to sampling.
This hands-on approach allows Singh to stay close to each piece. Every garment passes through his studio, shaped through hours of collaboration with his pattern maker. It is a process he considers a privilege.
A growing regional ecosystem
Singh sees strong momentum in the UAE’s fashion scene, particularly among younger designers and streetwear-led brands. The region’s openness to experimentation and community-driven support has created space for new voices to emerge.
With fashion weeks and creative platforms expanding across the Gulf, the ecosystem feels increasingly confident and self-aware.
Looking ahead
For Singh, the future of Absent Findings is simple. Stay inspired. Stay honest. The label is not meant to appeal to everyone, and that is intentional.
What matters is the connection with those who see themselves in the work: The creatives, the youth, the obsessives. For them, Absent Findings continues to move forward, quietly and with purpose.
