Sustaining tradition with fashion
Traditional handmade textiles are beautifully unique, and the fashion items created using newly made and vintage fabrics have one-of-a-kind appeal. Flourishing ethical and sustainable fashion brands could ultimately single-handedly support the handcrafted and local fabric industry. They might even offer some extra incentives for local people to keep the art form alive, since creating handmade textiles would provide them with a stable, sustainable income. This is the only way the fashion industry can ever hope to give something back to the underprivileged communities it has so blatantly taken advantage of in the past.
Cultural sustainability relatively might be a new term but it has deep rooted connections with the old age traditions of fashion. Be it gorgeous Jhumkas from the traditional bride jewelry collection or batik printed fabrics now made into skirts and western dresses, traditional crafts and oral traditions have always represented a source of inspiration in contemporary fashion and product design.
For 2019/2020 global trend-forecaster Li Edelkoort envisions Folklore as major inspiration theme in fashion and interior design and WGSN, the industry’s most influential trend-forecasting platforms encourages partnerships with local craft communities and honoring of people and tradition.
Cultural sustainability walks the path of enriching the modern fashion with the knowledge and traditional expressions from the past to support and preserve the natural and original designs.
The Cultural Intellectual Property Right Initiative agrees that fashion can be a pioneering industry for cultural sustainability and proposes the triple C mechanism (Consent, due Credit and fair Compensation) as the governing rule for relationships between the fashion business and traditional creative communities.
By selecting and supporting ethical and sustainable fashion brands featuring traditional and sustainable textiles, created by local artisans into their own designs, consumers can actively help preserve and protect the particular piece of culture. For example, at Belacci we strive to incorporate traditional weaves from traditional and local artisans of India into our designs. We do so in order to create beautiful, modern products of the highest quality with a vintage feel, all while supporting our struggling artisans so that they may earn a stable income and improve the lives of those in their communities.
The designs defined for conversion of the traditional to modern wear has well defined parameters with emphasis on simplicity through cuts and silhouettes while retaining the classic appeal through patterns that are basic woven in rich textiles. Using innovation as a frame, the underlying objective is to celebrate cultural sensibility. Designers are now converting contemporary styling inspired from Indian Lehanga , Cholis, salwars , Angarakhi’s (all silhouettes from traditional Indian clothing) into modern day skirts and dresses. Fashion created thus assumes a cultural system of meanings and an ongoing process of communication used by the designer to connect the craft to the larger audience.
Through Cultural Sustainability, It is time to give back to the communities and hope for a better future for everyone, free from bonded labor, sweatshops, child labor, modern slavery, and poverty. It will also help instill in them a sense of pride in the work and techniques of their ancestors. In this way we can ensure that they will be willing and able to carry on the art form of textile weaving and dyeing, and that they may even help bring it back up to the high standards of their ancient predecessors.
