Around 400 million tonnes of plastic is thrown in the trash every year. Has the thought of plastic being thrown away and contributing as a major player in environmental damage triggered you to the core? Well, it did trigger a 22-year-old fashionista who has changed the fashion game by manufacturing apparel out of plastic and thus bringing a revolutionary move in the Fashion Industry. Sara Lakhani, the alumnus of Pearl Fashion Academy, is not running on the usual fashion path. Instead, she has created one of her own. She is setting new goals for the fashion industry by creating apparel out of plastic. This is what we call an ideal out-of-the-box thought.
Sara Lakhani is a junior designer at Mufti, a menswear collection brand. A design enthusiast who loves the intricacies of nature, Sara has a keen eye for detail. Her self-faith entitles her to have an in-depth understanding. Her experience and job line are major platforms allowing her to gain expertise in this niche. Fashion design at Pearl Academy is a major part of Sara Lakhani’s education.
Sara Lakhani, Lakme Fashion Week’s sustainable limelight
Sara Lakhani’s innovative fashion designs have outshined on the ramp of the Lakme Fashion Week. FDCI, Pearl Academy, and Graduate Fashion Foundation collaboratively conducted The Lakme Fashion Week for Week International (GFWi). All the students across Indian premier global fashion schools were invited, where Sara had the chance to display her beautiful collection, made from plastic.
Sara’s collection has been developed from recycling and upcycling waste in both textiles and plastic. She intends to shorten the journey of single-use plastic from households to landfills. She created her collection for the conscious consumer, taking her inspiration from nature’s simple and complex details. With the help of this project, she seeks to change the perception of waste and involve people worldwide as participants in the solution. Her collection during the event included simple tops and bottoms, corsets, and dresses made from recycled yarns.
Ideation of bringing Single-Use Plastic back to the Wardrobes
Sara hails from a small town in Maharashtra, and her attention since childhood has been driven toward the beauty and qualities of nature. The betterment of the environment is rooted in her childhood. In addition, the urge to reduce the devastating effect came after she saw her father, a part of the pharmaceutical industry, burn plastic waste.
Converting the idea into reality involved a lot of struggle for Sara. However, her determination finally paved her way, which opened vast possibilities. Her experimentation processes were far more than one could think, which included various embroidery methods. The countless trial and error sessions made her conclude that Kantha embroidery would be the most suitable and consume the most plastic. This form of embroidery also aligns with her goals as it is the ancient old practice of patching together clothes from scrap.
Sara Lakhani’s sustainable fashion goals align with the traditional aesthetics of India. The country’s gem, embroidery, is the nation’s highlight of its aesthetics. The idea is a merger of revamping plastic and, at the same time, enhancing the traditional identity of India.
As a youngster, she believes that her generation is the most suitable group of people to witness and address the issues like environmental damage and work towards making it a more sustainable and eco-friendly place to live in. Sara’s actions have firmly established that “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
