If you’re inspired by the cloudy sky and the rains, you should check out After 8, a new collection by 2 talented designers, James Ferreira and Savio Jon. Ensemble, Bandra, debuts After 8, on 25th Nov, Thursday, between 6 pm and 9 pm. James Ferreira’s collection in jewelled tones of satin embody his signature drapes and pleats and keep with his single seam design philosophy. Savio Jon presents an evening collection of dresses in burnt-out colours like petrol, sunset blush, moss and ruby onion. The rains demand you stay indoors and where better than a fashion store, eh? |
Jean-Claude Biguine launches in Juhu, Mumbai
Jean-Claude Biguine launched its fourth salon in the city, in Juhu, with a Sunday brunch and a debut collection showing by Junelia Aguiar. Enjoying the lazy Sunday brunch and joining Jean-Claude Biguine in its celebrations were guests including Kim Jagtiani, Carol Gracias, Tarana Vaswani, Nausheen Sardar Ali, AD & Sabina Singh, Rocky S, Simone Singh & Farhad Samar, Kunal Rawal, Riyaz Gangji among others. A relaxed Sunday evening came to an end as the glowing faces of the guests reciprocated the soothing and heavenly experience of the place. |
How can an accessory brand be green?
Salvatore Ferragamo has an entire collection of environment-friendly bags. Titled “Eco Ferragamo”, features purses made with a nontoxic tanning technique and dyed using tannins extracted from tree bark. They're then lined with handwoven hemp to withstand everyday use. Simple mantra, this: Organic material + sensible manufacturing process + a little bit of innovation = bags that are biodegradable, water-resistant, and utterly stylish.
This one is SUPER: The coastal areas of Kenya constantly have a large number of flip flops washing onto shore! An organisation called UniqueEco employs local artisans, who turn these used flip flops into beads, sculptures, and other handmade pieces. International organisations place orders or commission artworks from them, made out of these flip flops. You can actually send in your chappals to them to be recycled: Unique Eco Designs, P.O. Box 15565-00503, Nairobi, Kenya. But very seriously, this only makes sense if you’re already in Nairobi – think of the resources you’d waste in ACTUALLY getting a pair of flip flops to Kenya from Mumbai.
Jewellery can also be eco-friendly. Take Jewellery by Amisha, for instance. 10% of the profits from every piece of jewellery go to charity. She uses recycled silver and semi-precious stones from india, handmade with a craftperson collective here. Her brand is a member of ethical junction and ethical fashion forum.
How can you help?
A lot of street fashion is really all about DIY. Reuse, upcycle, do it at home! Check out sites like www.diyfashion.about.com that tell you how to make stylish stuff out of things you find at home. Paper beads, curtains made of old sarees – or for that matter, anything made out of old sarees, it all works. Accessories are easy enough to make, and you can innovate so much.
Up next: some accessory brands and designers in the Indian scenario that stand out in the eco-fashion scene. |
Rendezvous with Rina Dhaka at HDIL ICW 2010
FTV: What does couture mean to you?
Rina Dhaka: As an Indian Designer, Couture is creating something new & different; that is not in regular prêt. It involves laborious handwork and immense effort. Indian Couture is about using out-of-the-ordinary embellishments. One doesn’t follow trend forecasts.
FTV: How would you describe your personal style?
RD: During the day, it’s more about functionality for me; so you would see me wearing jeans, comfortable shoes – maybe from Tod’s – and large, oversized T-shirts or shirts. I reserve the more fitting and stylish outfits for the evenings.
FTV: One item you cannot leave home without?
RD: My cell-phone.
FTV: An item in your wardrobe you would never part with?
RD: My Prada Embroidered Boots which have a 1980-90s kind of look.
FTV: One item that can make or break a look?
RD: Footwear!
FTV: Mountains or Beaches – what would your ideal holiday consist of?
RD: Beaches
FTV: Name one person you think has impeccable style.
RD: That would have to be Naomi Campbell!
Rina Dhaka presents her Couture line on 8th October, in Mumbai. |
Eco-Fashion (2 of 7) – Brands that have style with soul
Continuing our look at what constitutes eco-fashion, we bring you some designers who live by a conscience.
Swati Argade
For her collection ‘Ticket to Ikkat’, Swati sourced fabrics from fair-trade cooperatives in Orissa, where weavers were paid and treated fairly. Her collection ‘Shift by Swati’ uses colours of the American Southwest and graphic Indian prints. She has used a textile called modal, which is a cellulose fibre made from the reconstituted cellulose from beech trees. Swati is committed to supporting Indian textile traditions and identifying those crafts which need exposure to larger markets to support their survival.
Soul Quotient: Throughout the year, she has been working on the launch of a brand called ‘Bhoomki’. The launch product will be a small collection of coats made from fabric of recycled plastic bottles and organic cotton and assembled in New York City. All shipping will be offset with carbon emission credits as well. Swati guarantees that these coats will have one of the smallest carbon footprints among other coats made in the USA in its category.
Jhoole
Jhoole garments are produced using various eco-friendly materials including hand-loomed organic cotton and silk, natural dyes, organic dyes, recycled denim and factory waste jersey (misprints, etc.) from Pratibha Syntex’s LOOP collection. Based in rural Madhya Pradesh, the brand employs female artisans to create handloom, hand-embroidered garments. All the artisans are given good living wages and the brand particularly supports mothers, who are trained and can work from home. Jhoole collaborates with designer Karishma Shahani and artist Amy Sol. Sol produces ethereal paintings full of airy, flowy dresses and cuddly creatures. By working with Shahani and Sol, Jhoole is making these dresses real. Shahani has in the past created Yatra, a colourful and un-contrived range of outfits made of upcycled materials inspired by native India. This collaboration will culminate in exhibitions and fashion shows in the summer of 2011 featuring Shahani’s garments and 5 original paintings by Amy Sol.
Soul Quotient: Jhoole is currently raising funds to build a production centre that will be entirely energy-neutral. 20% of its profits are donated to local initiatives: With its focus on rural MP, social returns are highly visible and sustainable. Jhoole invests in the local community through health, environmental and educational initiatives.
Siddhartha Upadhyaya of August Fashion
Like his other endeavours, Siddharth’s last collection at LFW titled ‘As You Like It’ was sustainable. He showed a line that had no ‘correct side up’ – the garments could be worn upside down w/o revealing the fact. As he says, this is “doubling the utilization of resources” as one gets two looks at the cost of one.
Soul Quotient: We touched upon Siddhartha’s innovative technology – Direct Panel On Loom in the first part of this series. It helps save upon fabric, fibers, chemicals, finishes, energy, man hours and other resources by 15%-22% and saves water by almost 80%!
Bhu:sattva
Bhu:sattva is convergence traditional organic clothing with herbal dyes. The company gets its organic cotton from a contracted farm. The cotton is then processed in keeping with organic processing standards. Once ready, the fabric is dyed using herbal colours. The final fabric is then moulded into an outfit by designer Digvijay Singh who says, “I believe eco-cycling will make a difference in our lives sooner or later. Making use of the waste in a smart way, combining waste…should be our focus. Each one can contribute on some level; use organic fabrics, ban chemical dyes.”
Soul Quotient: Bhu:sattva strives to revive ancient and languishing art forms such as Kalamkari of Andhra Pradesh, Jaina art, Phad and Pichwai fabric paintings of Rajasthan, Phulkari embroidery of Punjab, Zari and Zardozi work of Mughals, Kantha work of West Bengal, Ka |
No comments:
Post a Comment