I WAS A SARI | LFW Circular Design Challenge Collection
ARTISANS’ celebrates ‘I was a Sari’, the winner of Lakme Fashion Week’s first Circular Design Challenge 2019. In this collection, Mumbai-based eco-ethical brand up-cycles pre-loved saris, seat belts, tarpaulin, and waste fabric to create apparel and accessories, giving a new lease of life to pre-loved materials. The 2-day event at ARTISANS’ also showcased the ‘embroidery collection’ that goes up for sale for the first time!
The Circular Design Challenge, India’s first award for sustainable fashion, is a launchpad for designers engaging with innovation and initiatives in the arena of sustainability. Launched in August 2018 at the Winter/Festive edition of Lakmé Fashion Week in collaboration with the United Nations Environment as a part of R-Elan’s ‘Fashion for Earth’ initiative, the competition received 900 entries from over 30 cities in India.
The eight designers shortlisted in November 2018 demonstrated their creativity and ability to adopt sustainability and circularity in their collections before a jury. As winners, I was a Sari received Rs. 20 lakh as prize money and will be showcasing their collection at the upcoming Lakmé Fashion Week Winter Festive 2019 in August.
About I was a Sari
I was a Sari is a social enterprise represented by founder Stefano Funari and Marketing Director Poornima Pande. It is a lifestyle clothing and accessories brand that places preloved Indian saris at the heart of a unique new style and empowers women artisans from Mumbai to become the designers of their future. It also collaborated with Gucci Equilibrium, the CSR platform of Gucci for a sustainable fashion project on hand embroidery.
I was a Sari presents a unique opportunity for all sustainable fashion enthusiasts to explore the wide range of fashion and accessories the brand offers. Through presentation, the brand’s co-founder Stephano Funari delved into circularity in design through the story of the brand’s inception and growth.
In Conversation with:
Gautam Vazirani
Gautam Vazirani, strategist & fashion curator at IMG Reliance, is today one of the leading voices in sustainable fashion in India. At IMG Reliance, Gautam has been leading developmental initiatives with diverse organisations /stakeholders in India such as United Nations, British Council, Lenzing Austria, Ministry of Textiles (Govt. of India), Raymond and ‘Fashion For Earth’ by R Elan by creating meaningful synergies between textiles, artisan, culture and creative industries for growth of sustainable fashion in India.
Radhi Parekh
Founder Director of ARTISANS’ Centre, Radhi Parekh, is a graduate in Visual Communications from the National Institute of Design (NID, Class of 1980). She returned to India in 2009 from a career as an illustrator and designer spanning two decades, three continents, and several technologies. In 2011, Radhi founded ARTISANS' a social enterprise ‘where art craft and design converge’ in Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, which is at he forefront of a movement to revitalize India’s unique creative economies through sustainable initiatives that inspire change in consumer consciousness to help sustain a marketplace that supports craft and design livelihoods.