RAGS TO RICHES

That fashion and sustainability can go hand-inhand is no longer news, but eco-fashion has not made it beyond the elite, the bohemians and the environmentally conscious. To make the concept even more appealing, designer Anuj Sharma created Button Masala, a zero-waste joinery technique, by which he crafts clothing that does not require cutting and/or stitching of the fabric. Sharma, an alumnus of National Institute of Design, India, and University of Derby, UK, conceptualised the idea of Button Masala to offer apparels and accessories to the millennial generation.

“Anuj [Sharma] is an established fashion designer who has questioned the basic paradigm of the fashion world by putting design back into the hands of the user. We came across his work through the campaign he did in Mumbai, to teach street kids how to make their own raincoats using waste tarpaulin,” said Manisha Gutman, founder of eCoexist, a city-based social enterprise that promotes eco-sensitive products.

In 2010, eCoexist began the Beauty of Recycling initiative to highlight the aesthetic and financial potential of upcycled waste. “When we began in 2010 there was very little awareness about the need to segregate waste, to understand that waste is a resource and to treat it respectfully. Since then, we have conducted five Beauty of Recycling events and are happy to say that the city is much more aware about sustainability now,” added Gutman. This year, Beauty of Recycling will focus on training underprivileged groups in and around Pune to create upcycled products from waste. They have approached designers like Sharma to help facilitate this, she said.

The organisation has partnered with the Sangam Girl Guides Centre, Bal Kalyan Sanstha and Swayam Shikshan Prayog to create a bigger beneficiary group for the ‘Button Masala with Anuj Sharma’ project. It has also tied up with students from the city-based design school, Srishti, to assist in training participants and to facilitate a pilot project. “The idea behind Button Masala is [to make] simple, easy fashion. It was only after observing that the technique produced zero waste and consumed less time that it was promoted as an item of eco-fashion,” said Sharma. Because the technique is simple, it can be learnt and carried forward by people of any age-group, he added. “The idea is to tell people that fashion does not have to consume time, money and energy“.

A workshop on making upcycled products with nonbiodegradable waste, conducted by Sharma, will be open to public, allowing participants the chance to personally learn the Button Masala technique from the craftsman himself. The workshop will also discuss the ways to create income for environmentally conscious individuals and a steady market for such products.Read more at:QueenieAu | formal dresses sydney