It was a trip to Europe last summer that inspired Farheen Rahman’s new collection of sustainable fashion wear. Mapping Murals 2.0. As the name suggests, mainly captures colourful murals found on doors and walls across Europe, in a range of prints and patchwork.
The collection ranges from sequin work, recreating blooming flowers within window frames and doors, placed on white and beige, to geometric shapes on dark and muted solid colours. There are jackets, dresses and skirts with traditional doors and window scenes recreated on them. “We get to see a lot of different doors in Greece. I’ve tried to recreate them in my pieces,” explains the London-based designer.
Farheen has drawn inspiration from French designer Camille Walala for the geometric shapes and blocks on her garments. What’s great is that she uses recycled fabric in the collection, instead of handwoven fabrics. “So many fabrics are leftover from the industries, which then get discarded in landfills. We asked our friends to send us the fabrics and sequins that they didn’t need,” she explains.
The most striking work, we found, was a white jacket called The Floral Window. It has light pink sequin detailing on the sleeves and back, and the gathering on the elbow makes for a unique patterned sleeve. There is a similar short skirt too, called The Floral Window Skirt.
There are many others, like the Bougainvillea dress in grey and The Floral Gateway, with pink tie detailing on the front. A dress in midnight blue, called the Green Door, makes for unique party wear. Each of the garments derives its name from the image it captures. But the most dramatic, and eye-catching piece was the Santorini Church from Greece, which surprisingly comes alive in different shades of blue sequins on a white dress, with pleated detailing on the sleeves.
A hand-embroidered cape top and matching trousers in rust, with a bow tie detailing at the waist and coats, and trousers in navy blue or green are good picks too. There are also jackets in monochrome colours with sequins, for an elegant but understated look — actor Sagarika Ghatke wore one for her birthday. So, what keeps the designer going and inspires her to think out of the box? “Travelling helps me think of things completely original. I do not design for the sake of designing. I start a project only when I feel inspired,” says Farheen.
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