The Hindu : New Delhi News : Creating eco-friendly fashion trends

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Monday, Apr 27, 2009
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New Delhi

Creating eco-friendly fashion trends

Fashion designer Mark Liu in New Delhi.

In Delhi to popularise environment-friendly garments, international designer Mark Liu talks to Madhur Tankha about his campaign, his fondness for rich Indian embroidery and much more.

Fashion is not just a statement for this young international designer but a means to save Mother Earth from environmental degradation. London-based fashion and textile designer Mark Liu says celebration of garments and eco-friendly clothes must go hand in hand.

Sparing a few moments while giving finishing touches to his fashion show at the “Eco Week-2009” in the Capital this past week, Mark said he was smitten by the rich Indian embroidered collections. “India is home to a long history of textiles and is soaked in intricate designs. Your designers have so much potential to make Delhi the fashion capital of the world. India is a booming economy and designers are beginning to make a mark in international cities and the global arena. It is high time that India had a couture for its exclusive indigenous clothes where there can be large-scale designing of garment production.”

Asserting that Indian designers will have to work extremely hard to gain fame overseas, Mark says in order to carve a niche for themselves the designers cannot afford to create the same dresses they do for the domestic market. Sometimes it surprise me that Indian craftsmen who make hand-spun and hand-woven clothes are paid so less while designers in London who don’t do so much of handwork are richly rewarded.

Having launched his revolutionary work “Zero Waste” range at London Fashion Week-2007, Mark has been earmarked as one of the leading proponents in the next wave of eco-aware and eco-responsible fashion designers.

“For the grand finale of National Geographic Channel’s ‘Eco Friendly Week’ I showcased my revolutionary Zero Waste collection – Singularity Point for Autumn Winter 2009/2010. I also borrowed pieces from the London Fashion Week and works from my previous collection.”

Stating that the six-day event assumed special significance for him as he along with some of the most versatile Indian designers showcased their ecologically responsible collections on the ramp, Mark says he wants to best utilise his maiden trip to India by popularising eco-friendly garments among local designers. “While celebrating fashion we also need to be more responsible. Creating every dress is a work of art and I use silk, cotton and wool for my collections. Even while keeping in mind that there should be no environmental degradation, we can still create profitable and beautiful dresses. I am negotiating with some big labels in India.”

Reminiscing his first tryst with one of the known fashion institutes in the world, Mark says: “Thankfully, I was encouraged by my faculty at Central Saint Martin’s College in London to create fashion without harming the environment. A lot of famous designers have graduated from there. Even budding designers dream of studying at the institute to develop environment-friendly fashion. For two years I developed the technology for creating zero waste collection. I have continued my research.”

Having freelanced as a consultant in Australia and London for fashion labels such as “Alexander McQueen”, “Ghost” and “Miss Selfridge”, Mark says he has used his extensive experience in the fashion industry and passion for eco-sustainability to push the boundaries of fashion through innovative textile design.

With “Zero Waste”, Mark says he has proved that eco-sustainability and fashion need not be mutually exclusive concepts. He has come up with a solution to reduce wastage as well as manufacture costs by utilising a unique cutting technique designed to save 15 per cent of material on each arrangement. “It is a unique win-win situation for both the environment and business operation.”

Shedding light on his background, Mark says his parents are Chinese who were settled in Malaysia. “My father is a child psychologist and my mom is into Information Technology. She is preparing the next generation of communication network for banks. Both are managing diametrically opposite fields. While my dad is looking into the human mind, my mother is trying to make computers easier to handle for professionals. Like them, I also have a habit of thinking a lot. Having lived and studied in Australia, I consider myself an Aussie. Now I am staying in London that has so many people of Indian, Chinese and Asian origin.”

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