ByPuja Gupta

September 13, 2019 (IANSlife) Designer Ujjawal Dubey of the label Antar-Agni believes that the idea of sustainability has now become a trend. The focus on sustainability is reflected in the choices consumers make, who are now more concerned about the whole process and the story behind a garment.

A design graduate from NIFT, Kolkata, Dubey, however, feels that sustainability to imbibe in everyone’s mind will take its own sweet time.

“There has been a change when it comes to people choosing products that are sustainable. I’m not saying everybody has changed, but there has been a considerable amount of change and any change is good. Even a per cent of change also matters, and when we have one-on-one with clients, we know there’s a change,” Dubey told IANSlife.

He says that not everybody is well versed with the idea of sustainability. “People know what they like but they can’t frame it. But when they see it in a garment and know the whole story and process behind it, they sink with it. It’s only then they understand that it is the idea they were talking about.”

The designer, who is known for creating contemporary menswear, feels that the Indian fashion industry needs a “free soul”.

“The industry is filled with energy. And personally, I love that. But what I think and want to showcase, a maximum of only 25 per cent of it comes out on the stage. I’m also pushing myself for the better.”

Dubey says there are innumerable challenges that one has to go through to survive in the industry, depending on one’s background. He believes that more restrictions make a person better in his work and craft.

“They are a part of one’s journey. Challenges are important because they make you what you are. The more restrictions you have, the better you become with your work, the better you become with your resources, the better you become with your thought process. That shapes you.”

(This article is website-exclusive and cannot be reproduced without permission of IANSlife)

Puja Gupta can be contacted at puja.g@ians.in

Editing by Parul Soni and N. Lothungbeni Humtsoe