NORTHEAST FEST 2020: UPSCALE MEETS UPCYCLED

A shift is being observed from fast fashion to slow and eco-friendly couture practices where even the most high end fashion brands are aiming for upcycling. Here’s how these designers from Northeast India are pioneering sustainability

When Balenciaga’s courtier Demna Gvasalia launched its AW21 collection ‘Afterworld: The Age of Tomorrow’, the virtual reality runway demonstrated the dystopian world but at the same time instilled hope for a better future anchored by a balance between mother nature and fast-growing fashion industry. There have been many brands and renowned designers who have been piloting the idea of sustainability in the past couple of years and by December 2021, many brands have already taken some incremental measures.

From Gabriela Hearst reportedly using 60% of deadstock in her SS21 collection ‘Retrofit’ and trying to “fix the planet” to Prada diving deep in the ocean waters to extract regenerative Nylon harnessing plastic waste, the fashion industry is trying to cut down on fast fashion and imbibe sustainability.

The need to go green stems from fast fashion being a major contributor to pollution. This happens when high volume of cheap, easy to dump off products invade markets leading to massive clothing waste as brands need to dispose of the past collection to make space for new arrivals. Moreover, the process right from the procurement of raw material to the creation of product and shipment leads to more and more burning of fossil fuels and release of greenhouse gas emissions that warms and harms the environment.

Research by McKinsey and Company revealed that the global fashion industry produced 2.1 billion tonnes i.e. 4% of total GHG emissions in 2018. If no serious action is taken towards sustainability, the emissions are likely to rise to 2.7 billion tonnes by 2030.