As the winter edition of the FDCI X Lakmé Fashion Week 2022 has been underway, we, at Her Circle set out to explore fashion from the lens of sustainability and it’s safe to say we weren’t disappointed. From the expected set of conscious collections on the runway to discovering brands that have found creative solutions to turn things around for fashion materials, here’s everything conscious you need to know, explore and introduce to your wardrobe from the fashion event.
The Impact Hub
One of the highlights of the event for us was undoubtedly a special showcase- the Impact Hub- which helped various Indian enterprises showcase ways in which their sustainable products make a huge difference.
A part of the Impact Hub was Phool’s eco-friendly alternative to leather which was made of waste temple flowers as well as Kirti Poonia’s Relove which is changing the face of second-hand clothing in the Indian market, one Indian label at a time.
Image Source: Instagram/lakmefashionwk
Humanity Centred Designs showcased how their innovative circular recycling framework helps and supports more than 150 apparel manufacturing MSEs towards sustainable transformation and recycling textile waste.
Image Source: Instagram/lakmefashionwk
Craste showcased their one-stop solution for packaging solutions and furniture solutions made by solving the crop waste management problems farmers face in the country. Instead of leaving crop residue and waste to burn, Craste used it to make materials for packaging and furniture applications.
Image Source: Instagram/lakmefashionwk
200 Million Artisans showcased how they work as an ecosystem enabler to catalyse self-reliance and responsible innovation for India’s artisans. They do so by providing access to knowledge, and resources to empower artisan producers and impact entrepreneurs. Their showcase highlighted how 56 per cent of participants in the artisan sector are women.
The Woolmark Company’s showcase highlighted how natural materials like guava leaves, indigo leaves, chaste tree leaves, Indian madder and many more can be used to produce natural dyes that can in turn used to add colour to wool yarns.
Sustainability And Its Different Forms
By now it’s clear that sustainability, both in fashion and otherwise, is multifaceted. Be it conscious practices, efficient waste management or simply circularity, we found that many homegrown brands were adapting different ways to make a difference.
The event started on Day one with this year’s Gennext lineup of designers, a category that has given us one of India’s most creative sartorial experts including Rahul Mishra, Masaba Gupta,
Ruchika Sachdeva of Bodice and many more. While designers like Somya Goyal design with a trans-seasonal perspective, Stoïque’s intention-based clothing included khadi and naturally dyed garments. In a similar fashion, ‘re-‘ made use of recycled textiles and plant dyes to create a collection of traditional Indian silhouettes, some of which were not only hand embellished but also hand sewn. The brand’s yellow-hued garments are dyed using waste marigold flowers from the Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai, seamlessly adding detail for better waste management to the brand story.
Somya Goyal, Stoïque, re- | Image Source: Instagram/lakmefashionwk
The highlight for us, however, was evidently day two or the Sustainable Fashion Day – a complete day of showcases and events revolving around the sole purpose and presence of sustainability in fashion.
The combination of handwoven and natural fabrics like linen, khadi, and cotton mixed with hand block prints or natural dyes held a strong presence in shows like that of Eka, Diksha Khanna and Swatti Kapoor.
eka, Diksha Khanna, Swatti Kapoor | Image Source: Instagram/lakmefashionwk
While some designers went the natural material way, the winner of the R|Elan™ Circular Design Challenge in Partnership with United Nations in India, ‘Pieux’ by Pratyush Kumar opted for a more circular path, making use of deconstructed and reconstructed old clothes in addition to recycled fabrics like CARTEX (upcycled carpet waste handloom textile), R|Elan™️ Greengold (recycled polyester made from post-consumer PET Bottles), GRS-certified recycled Polyester, organic cotton, etc. and made for a collection of uniquely styled silhouettes.
Pieux | Image Source: Instagram/lakmefashionwk
Also going down the circular route was designer duo Gauri & Nainika, who used R|Elan™’s new fabric called EcoGold which has been bio-enhanced to break down into natural elements, helping cut down fashion waste in landfills. The collection, which was a mix of light, dreamy florals and glamourous deep hues and silhouettes also used the R|Elan™ GreenGold fabric which is made from recycled from PET bottles.
Gauri & Nainika
Designer Anju Modi’s Indian wear collection also used the TENCEL™ lyocell and modal fibers for exquisite traditional drapes, embroidery and deep hues in Indian silhouettes.
Anju Modi | Image Source: Instagram/lakmefashionwk
Marrying both natural and sustainably made fabrics together in one collection was designer duo Abraham & Thakore who used a mix of organic cotton, habutayi, and mashru silks, lenzing eco Vero, and Tencel for a collection of contemporary, modern, and yet simplistic pieces.
Abraham & Thakore
Textile Crafts Given The Centre Stage
While traditional Indian textile crafts have a synonymous presence in Indian fashion, their use on this season’s runway was a true example of what Indian consumers are looking for today – Indian crafts with wearability, contemporary aesthetics or fresh takes.
Designers Saaksha & Kinni’s addition of crafts from the Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat to contemporary designs was a welcome edge. The use of mirror work and tie and dye with edgy and everyday silhouettes balanced the use of indigenous crafts with modernity.
Saaksha & Kinni
In magnificent contrast of aesthetics was designer Gaurang Shah’s collection which included traditional Indian creations from all over the country. Shah used silk weaves with Kanjeevaram from the South, Paithani from Maharashtra, brocades from Varanasi as well as traditional fabrics like Kota, Uppada, Khadi as well as muslin. The designer’s use of crafts like Gara, Kasuti, Aari, Chikan, and Kutch as well as traditional fabric crafts like Bandhani, Shibori, patachitra, kalamkari, and cheriyal paintings was truly symbolic of the rich diversity of textile crafts our country possesses, most of which still remains untapped as a whole.
Gaurang Shah
Even as we saw complete collections dedicated to sustainability, there were also designers adding their own versions of solutions to sustainability problems in fashion. Be it Abhishek Sharma’s use of zero-waste pattern making, Aisha Rao’s use of upcycled fabrics or fashion brand Guapa’s use of sustainable fabrics, it’s safe to say sustainability has found its way into Indian fashion in a positive way.
Women In Sustainable Fashion
An informative panel discussion on “Fashion, Climate and the Role of Women” on Sustainable Fashion Day successfully shed light on the importance of women’s roles in sustainable fashion. The panelists included pioneers in sustainable fashion- Priya Krishnamoorthy – founder and CEO, 200 million Artisans, Anita Dongre – chief creative officer, House of Anita Dongre and Aditi Mayer - sustainability activist and photojournalist. While Krishnamoorthy shed light on statistics from the
Business of Handmade report to highlight how women play an important role in the handmade sector as a whole, Mayer shared insight on the plight of women, who are often adversely affected by the climate change crisis. Dongre’s perspective as a designer helped us understand how one can, as a designer and as a consumer better produce and buy, respectively to make sure sustainability is furthered in our everyday wardrobes as well.
Anita Dongre, Aditi Mayer, Priya Krishnamoorthy
Circularity Practices
While these incredible showcases are super important to highlight sustainability in Indian fashion, an important part of the fashion economy is circularity- another element that took place of importance at the event.
Greensutra’s live recycling studio at the event was set up to recycle plastic products into accessories like coasters, jewellery, keychains and much more.
Another highlight was a ballot where you could drop your used invites, which would go on to be recycled into diaries, an attempt to go carbon neutral.