Page 133 - Vogue - India (January 2020)

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FOCUS
Conscious

crusaders ANEETH ARORA, PÉRO

USP: Diligent Indian textiles and
Handloom weaves, zero-waste policies, handcrafting meet an international
fair-trade practices, artisan welfare and a aesthetic to make a truly global brand

reduction in carbon footprints—sustainability It’s not unusual to encounter linen-cotton

means different things to these fashion from West Bengal, handwoven silk from
Bhagalpur (Bihar), mulberry silk from
frontrunners. By Kimi Dangor south India, mashru and bandhani from
Gujarat and chanderis from Madhya
Pradesh in a single collection of Aneeth
Arora’s label, péro. Arora, a textile design
graduate from the National Institute of
Design (NID), Ahmedabad, lays emphasis
on all things handmade, sustainable and
syncretic, while adding a touch of whimsy
that makes her label an amalgam of old
and new. Just a decade old, péro has won
the British Council’s Young Entrepreneur
Award in Fashion (2011) and, more
recently, a Threads of Excellence Award
presented by the Ministry of Textiles,
Government of India. Apart from working
with pure textiles and chemical-free
dyes, Arora is a proponent of upcycling.
From repurposing old péro pieces for
clients and using waste in trims, tags
“For us, the basic idea of sustainability is to be
and bags, the brand adds one recycled
able to support the people we are working with,
piece to every seasonal collection.
so that they have a sustainable lifestyle.”
Above all, for Arora, sustainability means
working with handwork processes and
providing consistent employment to her
craftspeople.
BHARAT SIKKA; ABHEET GIDWANI; CHARUDUTT CHITRAK

STEFANO FUNARI, I WAS A SARI
USP: Steeped in circularity and sustainability, Funari’s label uses pre-loved saris and utilises waste material

Winner of the Circular Design Challenge at Lakmé Fashion Week 2018, one half of a creative collaboration
with Gucci, and recent winner at the Green Carpet Fashion Awards in Milan, I was a Sari provides
employment opportunities to women from disadvantaged communities in Maharashtra. “The concept of
sustainability includes not only upcycling products, but also social inclusion and fi nancial sustainability. The
idea is to lenghten the lives of saris as well as upgrade the lives of the female artisans who work for us,” says
Italy-born Funari, who, along with his partner Poornima Pande, trains women in stitching and embroidery,
turning old saris and other waste materials into dresses, kimonos, jackets and accessories. >

EDITED BY PRIYANKA KHANNA www.vogue.in VOGUE INDIA JANUARY 133