A passage from India

Amrita Gagnon has lived on four continents. She speaks an unusual collection of languages -- English, French, Bulgarian, and Hindi -- and has traveled the world, seeking fabrics, jewelry, and other treasures along the way.

''I'm really curious just to see, how do other people live?" said Gagnon, 34, a resident of Arlington.

That curiosity has become the foundation for Gagnon's new clothing line, tinkkoo, which recently launched with a collection of hand-embroidered tunics. The colorful, loose-fitting designs were inspired by Gagnon's trips to India, where she was born.

Noting that India tends to be known for ''cheap, flashy clothing," Gagnon explains that she wants to celebrate the intricate handiwork that many of the country's artisans practice. Through word of mouth, she met a team of workers in India who create the shirts that she designs thousands of miles away in a studio on the third floor of her home.

Gagnon's aim is to take inspiration from other cultures and adapt it for a Western audience. Her shirts are embroidered and sequined, but do not look costumey. Tunics have been popular with the fashion crowd in recent seasons, but Gagnon said she was drawn to them largely because they are comfortable and easy to wear.

''You can be a lot of different body types and wear a tunic," she said.

Gagnon, who attended Babson College and works as a marketing consultant, has no formal design training, and began dabbling in fashion in her free time. She sends photos of her sketches to the artisans, and selects certain colors, sometimes with unexpected results: She once requested a shirt in the color of eggplant, expecting a dark purple. Instead, the shirt came back in magenta, which is the color of eggplants in India.

Gagnon, who named the clothing line after her childhood nickname, has spent time at the artisans' shop to ensure they are working in good conditions. She has posted pictures and information about the workers on her website.

''To me, they're the reason why we can do this," she said.

Tinkkoo designs are available on the Web at www.tinkkoo.com, and at the Cambridge store Bunjara. The shirts, made of lightweight wool or silk, sell for about $150. Tinkkoo also sells jewelry, and Gagnon is working on offering scarves, shawls, and possibly skirts.

Bunjara owner Sofia Bapna said the clothes are a good fit for her store, which sells antique furniture and rugs from India.

''It's beautifully designed, and it's unique," Bapna said of the clothing. ''It was clearly a match."

Gagnon traces her interest in the world to her father, who traveled frequently and now lives in Switzerland.

''We used to spend time at the dinner table talking about the places he had been," she said. At age 12, she was prepared to fly alone from her home in Newfoundland to France. The trip never happened, but she soon began traveling independently, and lived in Europe and Australia. Tinkkoo aims to bring all those globe-trotting experiences home.

''I want it to be as if I went to a friend's house with my suitcase and said, 'Look at all this stuff I bought,' " she said.