Seven young designers came together to showcase a 'zero-waste' beauty and health regimen in Kochi in a mission to evolve sensitive and sustainable fashion.
Pepper House Cafe played host to a rare show of beauty on Sunday. Dressed up as the venue for 'The Maker's Collective', Kochi's favorite hangout metamorphosed into an exhibition to support eco-consciousness and sustainable green fashion.
Seven young designers came together to showcase a 'zero-waste' beauty and health regimen in Kochi in a mission to evolve sensitive and sustainable fashion.
In its maiden chapter organized by Pepper House Cafe, one of Kochi's bustling art-spaces, the Makers' Collective presented its viewers with a range of cosmetics and accessories calling for a return to nature.
Face-scrub from coffee waste, tooth-brush from bamboo fiber
Zeher Mansoor, a Bangaluru based economics graduate, was inspired by the organic range of natural cosmetics her grandmother handed down to her family.
Under her brand called 'Bare Necessities', Zeher introduces a collection of recycled and recyclable organic cosmetic products, most of which are byproducts of our everyday trash.
Her face-scrub made out of used coffee powder, bamboo tooth-brushes and body-wash lotions manufactured from raw turmeric would speak volumes about Zeher's philosophy of 'zero-waste-living.'
“Even when we boast of 'going green' and using all herbal and ayurvedic cosmetics, we fail to notice that most of them are industrially prepared and delivered in plastic containers,” she says, “A cleaner body or a cleaner life does not mean a dirtier planet.”
The Burlap People, a nationally acclaimed designer baggage brand based in Calcutta, looks forward to redefining people's kit-choices with a strong message of eco-friendly living. Samridh Burman, the founder CEO of Burlap People says that jute is an alternative to all other raw-material preferences. “My family has been manufacturing jute bags for almost half a century now. But when I realized that this versatile eco-friendly material is considered only for making artless shopping bags and rice sacks, I decided to revamp our family business. The Burlap People employs a guild of artisans and craftsmen to refine, weave and design bags,” Samridh told Onmanorama.
Naushad Ali and Sienna Store, two brands that delimit skills of rural women
Redefining simplicity has always distinguished Naushad Ali from the rival couture brands. Based at Auroville in Pondicherry, the Naushad Ali store employs skilled rural women to stitch and manufacture comfort-based designer wear.
“Fashion takes its inspiration from the society. So it has a basic responsibility to give something back to the society. We believe in taking designer wear back to the grass-roots of society and nature,” says Maria, a young designer representing the group.
Sienna store, a Calcutta based designer wear start-up also believes in revisiting the society's ancient art-forms and preserving it. Sulagna Ghosh, the founder of Sienna Store associates with traditional artisan villages to source modern functional utility products including pottery, jute garments, ornaments and hand-crafted rugs.
“When we collaborate with rural craftsmen to source products, we aren't just getting benefited out of their skills but are also giving them a piece of the modern world which they can make effective use of,” says Sulagna aka Shulee.
The Summer House, Krithaa, and DE'ANMA are the other brands which participated in the Makers Collective. The young entrepreneurs also engaged its visitors through music shows, concerts and interactive talks on zero-waste living and eco-friendly fashion consciousness.
Isaac Alexander, the owner of Pepper House cafe and the organizer of Maker's Collective says that the initiative is meant to be a celebration of craft, design, and sustainability.
The Pepper House also hosted a yoga session on Sunday, by Mrinalika BhanjDeo, an expert Yoga practitioner based in Calcutta.
