Fashion can be mind-blowing without blowing up the planet, these pearls of wisdom were expressed loud and clear by aspiring sustainable designer Pratyush Kumar. Kumar’s label Pieux went on to win the Circular Design Challenge 2022, thus kicking off Sustainable Fashion Day on an eco-friendly note.
In the last 10 years, Day 2 is solely dedicated to all things sustainable on the runway. This year too, natural fibres, social messages, handcrafted designs were beautifully woven into season-fluid silhouettes. From contemporary silhouettes made from environmentally friendly, biodegradable material to textiles made from 100% post-consumer used PET bottles, each design was a beacon of hope for a better future.
In wake of what our planet Earth is going through due to pollution and the overflowing of landfills, Sustainable Fashion Day made a conscious effort to send out a message that we are in this together and making responsible choices is the way forward. The line-up featured an array of designers including Antar Agni by Ujjawal Dubey, Divyam Mehta, Karishma Shahani Khan, Khanijo by Gaurav Khanijo, Abhishek Gupta Benares, Anavila and Mossi Traoré.
Lighting up the runway in handloom, eco-friendly and innovative zero-waste technique, the showcases proved that sustainable can be sexy and stylish.
FESTIVE FERVOUR
Inspired by the beautiful Paro from Devdas, fashion designer Pratima Pandey tried to bring her beauty on the runway in the form of design. The collection comprised scarves over shirts, maxis, over shirts, tunics, skirts all luxuriously layered in fragile fabrics some with lace detailing. Renowned designer Anju Modi’s creation implemented a sattvic colour scheme featuring haldi, Chandan and kesari, a favourite during wedding festivities. Adding her expertise in bridal wear on the runway, ace designer Charu Parashar presented her pre wedding line The Khadi Bride handcrafted with love and colour prints.
PRETTY PRINTS
Payal Pratap takes a nostalgic journey with her collection JAVA focusing on prints comprising flora and fauna. From flowers, trees and bird motifs, the hand painted artworks were created on Bemberg fabrics such as satins, muslins, mulmul and silk blends. On the other hand, Diksha Khanna found her inspiration in the barren landscape of Ladakh and turned it into a dazzling array of garments. The focal point of her collection was eco-leaf printing that emphasised the sustainable process. Satya Paul by Rajesh Pratap Singh showcased New Order – a collection featuring myriad colourful and artistic prints created on sustainable fabrics by R|Elan™️.
MESSAGE RECEIVED
Nitin Bal Chauhan’s collection titled Countdown addressed grave issues such as urbanisation, air pollution and deforestation. (Photo: Instagram)Countdown by fashion designer Nitin Bal Chauhan was designed to raise awareness on how our collective action and non-sustainable growth is leading our planet to a point of no return. And that too, at an alarming speed. From avant-garde silhouettes and headgears were artistically brought to life on the runway using Graviky ink, which is made from carbon, collected from vehicles, chimneys, etc. The collection explored unconventional construction, creative pattern making and innovative 3D hand embroidery techniques.
