Carbon footprint, environmental friendliness and sustainability weren’t mainstream terms in the textile and fashion industry a few years ago. One rarely came across international denim brands highlighting ‘ethical denims’ that don’t use harmful/polluting chemicals. As more textile and design hubs join the sustainability bandwagon, those who’ve been at it for decades rather quietly, hope that these aspects go beyond being buzzwords and truly contribute to ethical fashion.
Divya Sheth forayed into textiles and fashion wanting to establish a zero-waste label that scores on the sustainability front. She’s worked with weaver pockets across the country and her new collection uses Pedana kalamkari from Andhra Pradesh that employs natural dyes. Kalamkari fabrics, feels the Kolkata-based designer, are a significant part of the sustainable and organic movement as the fabric is washed in milk and painted using colours extracted from herbs.
“Textile is one aspect part of my ideology of conscious and organic living,” says the designer. Even before launching her label in 2014, she was aware of how much fabric is wasted when cloth is cut to design a garment. Divya went to National Institute of Fashion Technology to learn fashion photography and communication and followed it up with a make-up and styling course at Central Saint Martins, London. She began conducting make-up workshops in Kolkata, and fashion design came up later. But the exposure to the industry taught her a few know-hows.
For her first collection, she used handwoven khadi, jamdani, Pochampally ikat and ajrakh from Kutch. Wanting to minimise waste, she and her team arrived at silhouettes that don’t waste fabric. “Whatever little is left over, we began making them into tassels that can be creatively used on the garments,” she says. Some design houses make use of leftover fabric to make bags, pouches and other accessories. Divya asserts with a hint of pride, “We’ve learnt to cut the fabric in such a way that so much fabric doesn’t get wasted.”
So, the silhouettes in her collections include oversized kimonos, panelled and drape garments, bomber jackets, capes and longer jackets, garments with asymmetrical hemlines, and a fusion of kurta and kimono that she calls a ‘kurmono’.
These silhouettes, she explains, not only minimise wastage, but also defy the ever-changing fashion trends and hence stay relevant. “The garments we designed in 2014 are classy and contemporary enough to be flaunted today,” she reasons.
Divya’s collections are available on azafashions.com and in Hyderabad, at Ogaan and Deccan Story. She has to her credit recognitions such as one of the top 20 designers for the Vogue India Fashion Fund in 2017 and Elle Graduates 2018: Modern Indian-wear Designer; she has showcased at Lakme Fashion Week for four seasons since 2014, before deciding to go slow.
“These days I am content coming up with one good collection each year,” she signs off.
