A Fresh Lease OF LIFE

The streets of India abound with the secrets of sustainability... A corner store to exchange your utensils, another to fluffup your mattress, the cobbler who’ll repairs your shoes, and the expert knife sharpener. Not to forget the dyers and trinket stores for handmade lace and gota... This is the magic of India, that is ours to cherish.

- Photographs by HARMEET SINGH SANA. Essay by KARAN TORANI. Creative Direction by YASHIMA BABBAR and PALAK VALECHA

KARAN TORANI's love affair with FASHION is matched by his PASSION for the art of REUSING fabric and daily objects. In this special ESSAY, he speaks about the POWER of MENDING, recycling, and REVIVING all that we hold so dearly.

“There is a beautiful couplet by Gulzar Saab [the poet] that says “Thora sa rafoo karke dekhiye na, phir se nayi si lagegi, zindagi hi to hai...” [Try darning just a bit, won’t you; things will seem new once again, it’s just life, after all...].I think this sums up my feelings about repaired items and clothes. When we fail in life or break down, we repair ourselves to restart our journey, fixing parts of ourselves, and moving forward. Why not do the same with clothes? The idea of getting rafoo [darning] done or readjusting the fitting of an old garment signifies not giving up...rather, a personal effort into truly making your journey (with clothes and items) more personal and heartfelt.

I was born and bred in the bylanes of Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar, in a fairly middle class household, where lending, reusing, or recycling products weren’t woke terms that one grew up hearing. It was simply a way of life. Especially since I was the younger one of two brothers, I spent my entire childhood rewearing my brother’s and cousin’s hand-me-downs. In fact, this way of life began from the time I was born... My mother never used branded diapers, but she cut fine mulmul dupattas to make soft and organic nappies to be wrapped around us to avoid rashes.