Recently, my elder sister was blessed with a granddaughter. She had been looking for soft kids’ bedsheets and dresses. As we hunted for comfy and smooth sheets with bright and beautiful patterns, we were reminded of the multi coloured patchwork sheets and quilts that our mother made for our newborns–a crazy conglomeration of shapes, sizes and hues put together.
She used to collect all the clothes that we didn’t wear anymore and turn them into something functional and fashionable. The rompers that she made for our kids had a story embedded in each of them.
One fine day, while navigating through the lanes of my city, my baggy jeans got ripped as they were caught on the bag holder attached to the tube of the bicycle. They were my favourite ones. I didn’t want to part with them. My mom soon came up with a brilliant idea. She took the scissors out and cut the jeans right above the knees, a patchwork on their pockets, and they became a classy pair of denim shorts.
Again, when my younger sister’s plain pink shirt got torn from the hemming of the sleeves as it got entangled with the branch of a mango tree, my mom patched on an embroidered piece of fabric on the edges of the shirt sleeves, and it became a style statement as many of her friends appreciated it. The shirt didn’t remain merely a piece of clothing but a memory that remained engraved in the heart.
In our home, no piece of old or damaged cloth was discarded before figuring out a way to fix it. My mom used to combine different textures, patterns and colours. A floral top torn in the middle, adorned with motifs of birds soaring high in the sky, instantly gave it a fresh look.
Our heritage isn’t a relic of the past, it’s a living, evolving part of who we are. As I have grown older, I now realize how so many of the bland or damaged items in our family closet could be turned into something more wearable. Reusing makes you exhibit your personal style, igniting creativity. It gives an innovative and artistic look to discarded clothes, provided you know the knack of styling, remixing and upcycling as an ethical consumer.
The art of upcycling means that you can elevate your style without spending money to purchase. Reusing and recycling is a way to achieve sustainable fashion and reduce a ton of waste in the process. With a creative upsurge, there can be many possibilities in front of you to turn your closet voguish.
“I always like standing out in a crowd,” my friend Sonia used to say when we were in university. Often, she used to paste sequins, buttons, beads, lace, etc, on her Kurta and dupatta, giving them an embellished look. For her, it was celebrating the fluidity of identity. Even now, I find her turning run-of-the-mill clothes into sophisticated outfits. She turns T-shirts into fun crops or tank tops; bored with a long dress, she slashes away some inches, and it becomes an exquisite dress for her young daughter. She is so creative that by using acrylic or fabric paint, she transforms Organdie dupattas into artsy ones.
Another friend’s mother-in-law, who is good at stitching, creates lovely bottle holders, small pouches, earphone cases, etc, from leftover clothes and gifts these unique pieces as gifts to friends and families.
The possibilities are various and veritable once you get your imagination running a little wild. All you need is vision before you begin. Every year, almost 92 million tons of textile waste are produced by the fashion industry, and it takes ages before it decomposes. All isn’t lost yet. Remember, “The most sustainable garment is already in your wardrobe.” You only need to upcycle it and make it an artistic output.
Dr Ritu Kamra Kumar
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