With an aim to do something meaningful with fashion, designer Debarun Mukherjee launched his new collection based on the concept of ethical fashion, called ‘The Circle of Life’. The name and the concept are inspired from the philosophical concept that explains life as a complete circle. “As a philosophical concept, ‘Circle of Life’ means that we start at the end and end in the beginning. Our lives, from beginning to end, resemble a complete circle. No matter how big or small the circle is, it ends in the exact same way for everyone. Throughout the centuries, people have found innumerable ways to represent this concept,” explains Debarun.
The collection, based entirely on saris, features reused fabrics, prints, embroideries and accessories, and represents a canvas of his creativity and design aesthetics. “The concept of using a garment and throwing it away always bothered me. Fashion products should be designed with high longevity, resource efficiency, non-toxicity, biodegradability, recyclability and good ethics in mind. The products should be redesigned to give the material and components new life. The life cycle of products should bring no environmental or socio-economic harm,” says Debarun.
Debarun Mukherjee
The collection, an amalgamation of the traditional and contemporary, comprises handwoven cotton and silk, reused pure silk and hand-embroidered surface texture. It has a multi-colour palette created with eco-friendly ombre dye and solid colours. “Sari is evergreen and eternally beautiful. I have put together a collection which represents the endless cycle of material which can be used and reused. Extensive surface texturing with dyeing and embroidery makes this collection good for any Indian occasion. This is an ode to eternal beauty of five yards of draped wonder, a sari,” adds Debarun (inset). A Telegraph lookbook:
Richa Sharma channelled a smart evening look in a silk and satin turquoise blue and black shibori-dyed sari, paired with a silk matka jacket top designed with multi-colour zardosi work.
Opt for a colourful and chic look for the upcoming Nava Varsha celebrations like Richa in a burgundy silk tussore sari. Accentuated with recycled silk applique border, it is designed with bead and gota highlights. The sari is teamed with a parallel patchwork blouse with gota patti and bead work.
Damayanti Giri amped up the style of the simple and classy handwoven chanderi silk grey ombre sari by pairing it with a zardosi gold and silver top and a complementing metal belt.
Priyanka Mondal’s crepe silk and net sari in a pastel shade is perfect for a morning or evening occasion-wear look. The sari is detailed with a recycled heavy-beaded and zardosi border, paired with a tone-on-tone blouse.
Picture courtesy: Debarun Mukherjee
Location courtesy: Bunaphile Cafe