Guest Post by Bindu Gopal Rao
Label Artham is giving saris a makeover, ensuring that several heirloom pieces are making their way out of wardrobes.
Bengaluru based Namrataa Bhatia, Founder, Label Artham is a fashion designer who has two other labels Namrata GB (for women) and Man By Nam (for men). With 15 years of experience in the fashion industry, she launched Label Artham about six months ago.
After dressing the glitterati in Bengaluru, she felt the need to do something to create a sustainable lifestyle among fashion enthusiasts. “There is a need for pre-loved, preowned and restructured and refurbished clothing so I started Label Artham six months back. We are currently working on giving your preloved sarees a completely new look and feel.”
The concept is simple. As most women have saris in their wardrobes that they hardly use, Label Artham gives the sari a makeover by creating a new garment from it. “Most people do not want to part with these saris as they are heirlooms, and most people have some stories associated with them, so they do not want to give them away. So, I thought why give them new garments and instead use what they had. A client can drop into the store with her saris, and we will recreate the magic of the sari into a new look ensemble.”
Her clients responded with much enthusiasm and Bhatia admits that it has been a fun exercise. “Everyone has loads of sarees that they need to repurpose and are happy to get a new wardrobe out of existing sarees. In fact, they are now relooking at their collections and digging out those that can be cut.”
These saris are essentially being converted to Indo-Western fusion wear and that includes a range of kurtas, tops, pants, skirts, salwar-kameez, bell bottoms and more depending on the fabric and what will look good in it. “The response is phenomenal, and all the saris are being put to great use for men and women both and couples are twinning as well. We sometimes make two kurtas – one for the lady and one for the man.”
Label Artham is a fashion and lifestyle brand, and Bhatia hopes to use our Indian heritage fabrics like Khadi and make it trendy for the youth to adopt it as well. “We have an ocean of wealth in the form of silks and cottons, and it is a must that we must use our skills to spread the message to the youth and fashion-conscious people.”
Bhatia is hoping that her efforts will make Label Artham a household brand and become a style statement that reinstates the message of being careful and caring of mother earth and her resources. “We must all start living like our grandmothers who would never throw anything away as they valued things and found ways to reuse and repurpose things. It is important not to be swayed by fashion trends and make conscious choices.”
Click here and here to read more posts on sustainability and upcycling.
