A decade after the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh that killed thousands of garment workers, and five years after the Fashion Industry Charter was adopted in December 2018, the United Nations Climate Change Conference, monikered COP28 this year, seemed to be renewing its interest in fashion and garment production.
Days before the first-ever fashion show staged at a COP event on December 6, British designer Stella McCartney, in an interview, said that “fashion is one of the most harmful industries on the planet”.
She is known for her pioneering use of climate friendly materials, once thought, un-mainstream-able and unprofitable, which bring her a turnover of £32.49 million (₹340 crores approx.) as of 2021.
COP28 saw the conference’s first fashion show, with Indian label Shantnu & Nikhil as one of the designer brands—among LVMH, Rami Kadi, and Gelareh Designs—to present their capsule collection, Indra, for dignitaries and visitors. Speaking from Dubai, Nikhil Mehra said it gave them the opportunity to showcase how Indian textiles and craftsmanship have always striven for sustainability, making it a part of the design and production process itself, long before it became a buzzword.
For a line-up of 10 haute couture looks, for both women and men, Mehra says he played with the idea of water as an element, and imagined what its scarcity has the power to cause.
Titled Indra, after the Hindu god of the rains and thunder, the collection is crafted in natural, undyed fabrics, and highlighted with hours of hand embellishments and other craft-intensive techniques like applique, cutwork, draping, and sculpting. Featuring dramatic silhouettes and asymmetrical hemlines — Shantnu & Nikhil signatures — the collection will head back to the designers’ couture studio in Mehrauli, New Delhi, ready to be ordered by prospective clients.
That said, Mehra is aware that “such events and shows are based on intent, rather than the possibility of profit. We were a small chapter in the big book of climate action that’s being taken, and continues to be required, across the world.” It is this awareness, he says, that allows him to differentiate between fashion and the “intent of design, which should always drive us towards sustainability.”
To do this, he stressed that designers need to look at utilising sustainable materials, techniques, and processes, and connect them with the occasions and seasons they design for. “This is already accessible in India; why aren’t we committing to it, owning it?” he asked.
With the world’s attention focused on COP28, this fashion showcase can serve as a reminder of the power of individual choices in response to global issues.
