The first-of-its-kind collaboration between the UN and an Indian designer uses fashion as an outfit of change and utility
In fashion or in life, it's often the gospel truth: what goes around… comes around. The lightweight polythene bag that we know today as the environmental scourge was patented in Sweden as recently as 1965. It makes you wonder then, what did the civilisation use roughly between 1965 and 2007 — when Anya Hindmarch fashionably rebranded the cloth bag bearing the words: "I'm Not A Plastic Bag" for a charity that aimed to reduce people's dependence on carrier bags.
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Recyling-upcycling is a big deal now, but don't tell that to our mothers and grandmothers, and their reliable Singer sewing machines. Most of us who were raised in middle-class families in Maharashtra have fond memories of tagging along with our mothers on Sunday morning trips to the veggie market, not with plastic bags but kaapadchi pishvis (fabric bags). Based on a similar homegrown technique of making traditional patchwork quilts, these pishvis were stitched together from bits and bobs of leftover fabrics. They came in different shapes, sizes and designs, some with pockets and compartments, some a bottomless sack — all united by one practical purpose — to get the job done.
A study conducted by the Danish government in 2018 found that a well-meaning, good-for-planet fabric tote has less cumulative environmental impact than a single-use plastic bag; the former can be reused 7,100 times. The plastic crisis affects us all. In the hope that the volume of the debate is turned up, UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) and Ogilvy have made single-use plastic ban their top priority, while a collaboration with Masaba Gupta ensures that fashion is very much kept in the loop. "Sukesh Nayar of Ogilvy has been working with the UN on this campaign, and he asked me if I could create a line of clothes that could be turned into bags," Gupta says about the project that has been two years in the making and will be launched today.
Titled I Will Wear Out Plastic, the 10-piece limited edition collection is ready to wear and includes shirt dresses, salwar kameez, jackets and trousers, cropped tops, maxi dresses and tunics, each featuring Gupta's fabrics-of-choice — silks and crepe, and her signature animal prints including giraffe, swan and horse laid against the lush floral backdrop. But here's the Sherlock moment: a part of each garment can be turned into a bag either by unzipping or unhooking a button. To wit: an inbuilt slit on the back or on the hemline of a shirtdress can be unzipped to turn into a bag, or the sleeves on the "cold-shoulder" kameez get unhooked into a tote and a knapsack. "For me, the greatest fear was making sure the clothes didn't look like a gimmick. I wanted them to have a life of their own. They had to be functional first; these are clothes that can be worn everyday," says the designer.
Gupta tells us that each garment comes with a manual on how it can be turned into a bag; "I don't want customers to find it labour-intensive! We have also worked on a series of videos for social media featuring DIY tips on how you can turn your existing garments into a bag. The idea is to make the cause bigger than the clothes, and not just reach out to the fancy and those who use Instagram but spread the word across classes."
At The designer's stores across the country. (Mumbai) Unit No 8, New Sujata CHS Ltd, Juhu Tara Road, Juhu.
Call 65298694
Log on to houseofmasaba.com
Cost Rs 5,000 to Rs 13,000
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