Sara attempted to convert a problem into a solution. She hopes to bring about a change in how waste is perceived and how the rest of the world can be a part of the solution.
New Delhi: Plastic was once seen as one of the greatest inventions of humankind. Very soon, it became a material of day-to-day use; much later, we began exploring its harmful effects. Today, it has become difficult for us to eliminate plastic from our everyday life.
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22-year-old Sara Lakhani has a solution. A designer by profession, Sara’s love for nature has prompted her to go beyond the traditional concept of clothing. Her collection is based on recycling and upcycling waste in both textile and plastic.
Her idea titled “Trash or Treasure” was on display on the ramp on Lakmé Fashion Week.
The Lakmé Fashion Week for Week International (GFWi) was conducted in collaboration with FDCI, Pearl Academy and Graduate Fashion Foundation where they welcomed students from premier global fashion schools across the country.
“The inspiration comes from the simple and complex details of nature around us. The collection is for the conscious consumer,” Sara tells SocialStory.
Sara attempted to convert a problem into a solution. She hopes to bring about a change in how waste is perceived and how the rest of the world can be a part of the solution.
As per SocialStory, the Kantha embroidery in the collection uses all waste polythene bags and the fabrics are recycled and handwoven textile waste. She aims to create a line that is versatile enough to be worn by anyone, anywhere, and at anytime.
Kantha embroidery features centuries-old tradition of stitching patchwork cloth from rags. Threads are looped on one surface only to form the shape while the reverse side of the fabric remains a simple kantha of straight, running stitch, and the front side is a complex geometric pattern.
“My collection was mostly of corsets and dresses, lots of simpler tops and bottoms, which were also made out of recycled yarns,” she said SocialStory, explaining that all it uses fabric and clothing waste that goes to dump yards to be re-converted into different, new fabrics.
Inspiration
Sara Lakhani belongs to a small town near Nagpur where her family runs a pharmacy. Sara has witnessed the huge amount of plastic waste being generated by the pharmaceutical industry.
“It’s difficult for us to discard that waste in such a small place. Because there are no such organisations or people in my area who are either reusing the plastic that’s been generated or do something about it…it causes more harm to the environment,” she said.
As a final year fashion student, when it came to picking a theme for project, Sara didn’t have to look elsewhere. She studied about the amount of plastic waste being generated in India, and the different ways people recycle it.
“That was the starting point for me and I understood that there’s something that needs to be done about the plastics being thrown away. So I got in touch with a lot of plastic recyclers in Mumbai, Gujarat, and Rajasthan, and collected a lot of plastic waste from them.”
Sara chose negative Kantha embroidery after a lot of trials and errors on embroidery and weaving methods, besides figuring out how to use plastics in the project, as per SocialStory.
She took all the plastic she had, particularly the plastic bags and medicine blister packets to begin her work.
“I made threads out of plastic bags that I had at home. I just started stitching it… trying all kinds of embroideries and knots. After a point I realised that the embroidery stitches and methods that working for me when I’m trying to use the plastic bags that I have at home,” she said.
Sara also spoke to different embroiderers in Mumbai and Gujarat about her idea. All of them turned her down initially.
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“It’s a long process and needs manpower. Usually, embroiderers are used to having threads that are very easy to work with,” she said. But Sara’s process was much more intensive—requiring intervention from cutting the plastic to making them into threads fit for embroidering.
However, she managed to get a Mumbai-based embroiderer to assist her in the project. Sara currently works as a junior designer at a menswear collection brand, Mufti. As per SocialStory, Sara is looking forward to gain experience, work with industry experts, and eventually launch her own brand.
