SARTORIALLY
“Environmental and economic sustainability is something I feel strongly about — perhaps because hand-crafted textiles instilled in me an appreciation for slow-fashion and the craftsmen who make them. As far as the future of fashion goes, I think sustainability is something the world will be forced to consider. We’re running out of resources, and the wealthy have become more evolved as a culture. It has become less about consuming frequently and replacing old clothes, and more about investing in quality, timeless pieces. Since this is still new territory in the fashion and consumer world, I think the world (both producers of fashion as well as consumers) will take some time to figure out various price points and trade-offs for different segments of the market. Ultimately, even sustainable fashion has to be affordable to some extent in order to have a real impact on the environment, otherwise it just remains a product for the elite,” says Anaka Narayanan, a designer who runs Brass Tacks, a sustainable clothing venture. She adds, “I grew up surrounded by handloom textiles and I developed a certain association with them and an affinity for them that’s close to my heart. My relationship with textiles is, admittedly, very sentimental. I work with allnatural and hand-crafted textiles primarily because I think they are beautiful, classy and interesting. It so happens that they are better for the environment,