Runa Ray: Stitching Together a Fashion Revolution

"I think we need an entire revolution in the fashion industry,"
says⁠ Runa Ray⁠, my first guest of 2025. And she is making it
happen—as a designer, activist, and visionary.


Her journey spans the⁠ Global Peace Flag Initiative⁠, endorsed by
the United Nations and hailed as the largest art movement for
peace and climate action, to presenting collections at Monte
Carlo Fashion Week, the Grammy Awards, and shaping policy at the
World Bank.


Through pioneering innovations like algae-based textiles,
zero-stitch techniques, and plant-based dyes, Runa challenges
both designers and consumers to rethink their role in the system.


She shares profound insights: witnessing coral graveyards in the
Maldives, confronting the staggering waste of the fashion
industry, and advocating tirelessly for an integrated ocean
system.


Born in India and refined by her work with Dior and Galliano in
Paris, Runa has turned couture into a powerful tool for
change—blending sustainability, peacebuilding, and innovation to
redefine the very purpose of fashion.


Runa is stitching together peace, sustainability, and
transformation—one design at a time.


⁠Host Sibylle Barden