BEST OUT OF WASTE Reduce textile usage, upcycle more – that’s the mantra at India’s RaasLeela
In an uber-chic Mumbai concept store hangs an off-white cotton dress with a plunging neckline. Scraps of colourful cloth pepper the bodice. The shapes of the scraps resemble none that you would readily recognise. Shapes best described as misshapen. But each bit is neatly sewn, hand-sewn, and impeccably finished. Clearly, thought has gone into the placement of each fragment. Turn the dress inside out, and more hand stitching becomes visible. It appears as though the entire outfit has been pieced together one stitch at a time. Even the letters on the label RaasLeela are hand embroidered. If one were to play on the idiom ‘the devil lies in the detail’, then perhaps this RaasLeela outfit, and all the others on the rack, could be described as an enjoyable prêt edit of, well, hell.
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