Fash Forward Komal Shah

The fact that retailers are spotlighting sustainable brands is adding fuel to a small but emerging segment of the market.

As brands scramble to find ways to distinguish themselves in an intensely competitive market, the prospect of additional promotion from major retailers could provide a significant push towards more sustainable practices.“It’s an emerging demand, and I feel that all these retailers and many more anticipate it because it will arise very quickly over the next few years.

It's also not the first time retailers have flirted with sustainable commitments. It was an active conversation in the late 2000s that got derailed by the recession, but things have moved on since then, with climate change becoming a much more pressing social and political topic.

Initiatives linked to sustainability also offer potential new revenue streams. For instance, launch of project SURE by Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Irani, last year which is India's biggest commitment  towards sustainable fashion. SU.RE stands for ‘sustainable resolution’ — a five-point agenda for the industry to move towards fashion that contributes to a clean environment. 

It is very important to remember that every environmental impact the textile industry has, contributes in some way to the overarching issue of climate change. From fertiliser use on cotton farms, petroleum-based chemicals used to make synthetic fibres and dyes, to the use of coal-fired power generation, freight and logistics, land clearances, air and water pollution, landfill and perhaps, most importantly, the overconsumption of fashion. We should also re-evaluate entiresystem of operations in this pandemic and crisis situation which has presented us with an opportunity to rethink and rebuild systems in a collective effort to ensure a just and resilient future post-pandemic.

The metrics need to be defined. We need to reinvent the fashion wheel because A) we haven't faced this crisis earlier B) there is no vaccine for climate change and C) there is no Planet B.

A primal faceoff between chaos and control is what we all are going through right now. From designing for fashion weeks , working on production for international Fashion weeks, collaborating with bigger brands for expanding the reach of organic active wear clothing to seeing what exactly works in a brick and motor store in organic and sustainable clothing - my work has touched and mutated them all.
Now is the time to pause and reflect on my role in weaving the very texture of modern sustainable consumerism in my little way . Transforming an industry isn't easy,” but we have to begin somewhere. And the fact that the industry’s inner workings remain more-or-less a black box is a stumbling block for efforts to fix these problems. The opacity surrounding environmental impact can be a convenient excuse to avoid tackling the subject in a meaningful way. And though more brands are signing onto global initiatives to reduce their footprint, many lack the information they need to pursue change effectively.

If you are indulging yourself into shopping as a go to stressbuster then, beware that consumerism is our drug of choice , which we regularly use to hide from our anxiety ridden realities. We all know that unconscious consumerism has disastrous humanitarian + environmental effects. Yet, this knowledge doesn't seem to be stopping us from consistently buying shit that we don't need. Because we shop when we are rich and we shop when we are poor. But when everything is uncertain, everything that is important begins to clear. And as C.S.Lewis said - " You're never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream."

Oftentimes the most comfortable things to wear are least flattering. Let's talk about these structure of things from geometry lessons and decode how to amp up your game while wearing Oversized or Antifit Clothing.

The concept of season in fashion has now become out of season. Seasonless clothing is the calling now. Full looks need to be taken apart. One great item that you buy, needs to be worn in different way. The fashion system demands a complete Reset, now !