BHUBANESWAR: The fashion industry in recent years has had a disastrous impact on environment. In fact, it is the second largest polluter in the world trailing the oil industry.
Benorita Dash, a young fashion entrepreneur from Odisha, has come up with a solution to this menace. She states that the first step lies in building awareness and willingness to change. Aspiring to be a sustainable designer, she is already making a name for herself in the fashion industry.
Sustainable fashion, also known as eco fashion, is a part of the growing philosophy and trend of sustainability, the goal of which is to create a system which can be supported indefinitely in terms of human impact on the environment. Social responsibility is stressed upon in this ideal.
Being one of the first sustainable designers from the state, Dash wishes to be a role model in creating an ethical and eco-friendly benchmark in the fashion industry. Her mantra of making people confident and comfortable in an ethical and sustainable fashion is what makes her designs unique and eccentric.
Sustainable fashion is a field in which she was interested in since her college days. Despite plying her trade for a reputed fashion agency in Mumbai, this young entrepreneur decided to quit her job in order to chase her passion. After returning to the state, she started exploring various dump yards to channelize her ideals of sustainable fashion.
Coating ikat plays a very important role in her brand Ladyben. Benorita follows a strict regimen to enhance the quality of her products. She creates a capsule wardrobe, collection of a few essential items of clothing that do not go out of fashion, with a great attention to details.
On a brief interaction with Orissa POST, she said, “Fashion designing is all about making the best use of one’s creativity and skills. There are several ways of producing ethical fashion and it falls into three categories- social, commercial and environmental. Home decor and clothing items can be easily made out of waste material from different boutiques and factory waste. This is one of the most ethical ways of designing that blend both craft and culture. I also use a patch work technique from Pipili with Pattachitra and Ikat.”
Dash has conducted her own fashion show Ladyben Spring Collection in Bangalore. Participants from different parts of the country showcased various designs of spring wears. The vivid texture of fabric and sharp tailoring in her works prove that fashion can be both stylish and organic at the same time.
Dash is determined to prove that sustainable fashion does not entail archaic products. Her beliefs on eco-friendly fashion designing should be practiced by fashionistas for the sustainability of our environment.