A Decade Inside Fast Fashion. This Is the Exit.

Last updated: April 2026

This is the long version. The about page gives you the short one. If you want to know why this brand exists — not the marketing version, the actual version — keep reading.

Who's behind Rotten Hand?

I spent over eleven years at M.H. Alshaya Group, managing American Eagle menswear across 60+ stores in the Middle East. At its peak, the operation I ran moved roughly $50 million a year in product. I started as an Assistant Merchandiser in April 2011 and worked my way up — merchandiser, senior merchandiser, supply chain. During my time managing supply chain out of Kuwait, I oversaw the movement of around 11 million units a year through a warehouse in Jebel Ali, Dubai. I know how the machine works. I know exactly where it breaks down, too.

I was miserable in Kuwait. I wanted out. In 2017, while still at Alshaya, I launched Damned Designs — an EDC brand making knives, fidget toys, and desk objects. It grew to $10K a month and became the first proof that I could build something of my own.

How did getting stuck in India during COVID change everything?

I got stuck in India when COVID hit. And while that period was rough for a lot of people, it was honestly one of the best times of my life. I had space. I had time. I started developing my own style — paying attention to what I actually wanted to wear instead of what I was buying and selling for someone else.

The effort I'd been putting into Damned Designs during that time started paying back in 2021. I quit Alshaya and went full-time on my own brands. I didn't know the next one would be a clothing company. I was initially drawn to the financial side — the opportunity, the margins, the independence. But as I travelled and had more time to focus on what I was actually wearing every day, it became about the fabric. The feel. The quality. Things I couldn't find in stores.

What were you actually looking for in a shirt?

I wanted something specific. Wrinkle-free. Easy to wash and dry. No shrinking. No color bleed. Soft on skin. Oversized fit that drapes properly, not a box cut that just hangs off you.

That's not a complicated list. But finding a fabric that hits all of those points — and doesn't feel synthetic doing it — turned out to be the hard part.

I started prototyping around February 2022. Tested dozens of fabrics. Many felt synthetic. Some didn't fall right. Too heavy, or too light, or one thing was always off. I described what I wanted to everyone I could — suppliers, fabric agents, factory owners. Nobody had exactly what I was looking for.

How did you find the fabric?

By accident.

In February 2023, I was walking through a market in Mumbai and came across a fabric that was being used for hijabs and similar garments. I sampled it and immediately fell in love. The drape, the softness, the weight — it was everything I'd been describing for a year, and I found it in a context nobody in menswear was looking at.

I took it and put it through its paces. Wore it myself. Hot weather. Humidity. Wash after wash. It held up. It didn't shrink. The colors didn't bleed. It felt the same after the twentieth wash as it did after the first.

The fabric has a peach skin finish — a brushed surface that's soft without being flimsy. It moves. It's comfortable in a way that's hard to describe until you wear it. It's also, as I'd learn later, a nightmare to manufacture with.

What went wrong during production?

A lot.

This fabric is soft and flowy, which is exactly why it feels good to wear. It's also exactly why most tailors wouldn't touch it. It doesn't sit still on a cutting table. It shifts under a sewing machine. The properties that make it great for wearing make it genuinely difficult to cut and stitch.

I produced about 400 sample shirts and sent them everywhere. Friends in Goa. People in Koh Phangan. Singapore. Paris. Berlin. The feedback was good — most people loved wearing them. So I moved to production.

My primary factory partner, Pavan, did excellent work. But I was chasing a launch date — May 10th, 2024 — and Pavan couldn't produce the volume I needed at the speed I wanted. So I brought in a second factory, run by Rishi, to handle part of the run.

When Pavan checked the 700 shirts Rishi's factory had made, there were serious quality issues. Too many to list here. Rishi agreed to fix them.

In September 2024, I went to India to see the fixed shirts. They still weren't up to standard.

Pavan had to redo them. That was a few thousand dollars lost and months of delay. But I wasn't going to ship shirts I wouldn't wear myself. That's not how this works.

What happened after production was finally done?

More problems.

Goods were finally ready by Q1 2025. Then I had to get them to the US.

The packaging I'd chosen was made from tapioca starch — biodegradable, sustainable, exactly the kind of thing you'd want a conscious brand to use. It got shredded during shipping. Every bag, destroyed. I was shattered.

Avid Logistics, my fulfillment partner, stepped up and agreed to repackage everything at $0.50 per shirt in labor. I found replacement packaging made from recycled industrial waste — tougher, still sustainable, and it actually survives a container ship. Problem solved, but not without another hit to the budget and the timeline.

How many times did you shoot the product before getting it right?

Four.

The first two shoots weren't strong enough. The third one — shot by Chitra Kathaa — was beautiful. Amazing art direction. But it was lifestyle-focused, and I needed product shots that showed the shirts clearly.

The fourth shoot was the one. Clean, accurate, and true to what the shirt actually looks like.

Four shoots to get there. That's the reality of building a brand with standards. Every shortcut I skipped cost time and money. Every time I thought "this is good enough," it wasn't. And I'd rather take the hit early than explain to customers why the product doesn't match the photos.

When did Rotten Hand finally launch?

November 13th, 2025. My birthday.

One shirt style. Two sleeve lengths. Three sizes. Nine colors. No seasonal drops. No manufactured urgency. No "limited edition" language designed to make you panic-buy.

From first prototype to launch: almost four years. From finding the fabric to having it in customers' hands: nearly three. Was it worth it? I'm wearing one of these shirts right now, and it's the only shirt I reach for. So yes.

Why is it called Rotten Hand?

"Rotten hand" — as in, you got dealt a bad hand. The worst one at the table.

I was miserable in Kuwait for years. I got stuck in India during a pandemic. I lost thousands on a factory run that had to be redone. My packaging disintegrated in a shipping container. I shot the product four times before the photos were right. None of that was the plan.

But I've never believed the hand you're dealt is the thing that matters. What matters is how you play it. That's not optimism — it's just practice. As a yogi, my philosophy has always been simple: you can't control your circumstances, but you can control how you show up. In work, in relationships, in the things you build. You don't cry about the cards. You play them.

The name is the philosophy. You can get dealt the worst hand and still make something worth making.

What is Rotten Hand, really?

It's the shirt I couldn't find in stores. Built by someone who got dealt a few bad hands and played them anyway. That's the whole thing.

I'm not trying to fix fashion. I'm not starting a movement. I'm making clothes the way they should be made — the way I'd make them if I were only making them for myself — and selling them at a fair price. Ethically produced in India with corozo buttons instead of plastic, by people who are paid fairly for work that is genuinely difficult to do well.

After eleven years watching the fashion industry cut every corner that wasn't visible on the hanger, I wanted to build something where the quality is the point — not the marketing.

FAQ

Who founded Rotten Hand?
Rotten Hand was founded by someone who spent 11+ years managing American Eagle menswear at M.H. Alshaya Group across 60+ stores in the Middle East, handling roughly $50M/year in product and 11 million units through supply chain operations.

How long did it take to develop the shirt?
Almost four years from first prototype (February 2022) to launch (November 2025). The fabric was discovered in February 2023 in a Mumbai market, followed by a year of personal testing, global sampling with 400+ shirts, and a production process that included factory changes and quality rebuilds.

Where are Rotten Hand shirts made?
India. Ethically, with fair wages. Our primary manufacturing partner, Pavan, produces the shirts. We chose partners based on quality of work and working conditions, not lowest bid.

What makes the fabric special?
The fabric was originally used for garments like hijabs. It has a peach skin finish — a brushed surface that's soft, wrinkle-resistant, and doesn't shrink or bleed color. The same properties that make it comfortable to wear make it difficult to cut and sew, which is why finding the right factory was critical.

Does Rotten Hand do seasonal drops or limited editions?
No. We don't manufacture urgency. Products are available when you want to buy them. New products launch when they're ready, not when a marketing calendar says they should.

What is the return policy?
Two-day return guarantee. Try the shirt. If it's not right, send it back. I'd rather you return one than keep one you're not happy with.