While the demand for sustainable fashion is definitely growing in India, there is also a demographic that shies away from it, as the first image one’s mind conjures up when you say eco-conscious clothing is shapeless dresses and oversized shirts. Sure, they make for great lounge and casual wear, but they are not really ideal when the occasion warrants something a bit more dressy and sharp. Here to change all that is young and promising Sayesha Sachdev of SY:SH The Design House, who at age 21, shows immense maturity and understanding of the industry. “I started my research on sustainable fashion five years ago and the first collection for SY:SH, Conscious was launched in June this year. We’ve spent a lot of time developing fabrics from banana and mango fibres and hemp,” says Sayesha, whose mother Jyoti Sachdev Iyer is a well-established name in the fashion industry.
At SY:SH, the focus is on garments that are fitted, yet flattering. There is a conscious move away from anti-fit clothing. “They can easily be worn to a party or a brunch,” says Sayesha, of her line of trousers, jackets, tops and dresses, that are a mix of white, off white and black. The fabrics are showcased in their natural colours and the black comes from textiles sourced from industrial waste.
“We plant our organic cotton plants and use the cotton that we get from our crops. To create banana fibre fabric, we use banana leaves and banana starch. At first it’s really coarse, but after the first wash, it becomes super soft,” explains Sayesha, who studied at Central St Martin in London and worked with names like Dolce & Gabbana and Lanvin before returning to India.
In Conscious, everything from the Wave’d shirt, with balloon sleeves, a slit down the front, and fitted round the neck and waist, to the Twisted trousers, with lace-up details on the thigh, reflects Sayesha’s affinity for androgyny and power dressing. “For me, less is more. My aesthetic is androgynous and I’m very anti-gender,” she tells us. Sayesha’s next collection is a reaction to the exploitation of women. “The clothes are designed to make the wearer feel powerful and confident,” says Sayesha, adding that she is experimenting with coffee, tea and hibiscus to create natural dyes.
SY:SH will be on Perniaspopupshop by the first week on December. It will also start retailing out of Wolf & Badger with an exclusive collection by February next year and in Soho, New York and Mayfair, Notting Hill in the next few months.
Rs.5,000 upwards. Details: sayeshasachdev.com