Paper Wedding Gowns

Bhatija says that the inspiration behind the idea was a gold fish and a mermaid. “A fish is calm,a little restless and so is the bride. For a bride it is like taking the first step into her new life so she is happy but scared. That’s where we tried to draw the inspiration from,” says Bathija. Other team members include Ashlesha Navale,Kanika Bardava and Vaibhavi Vakharia,all third year students studying design.

This dress will be a part of the day-long design exhibition being organised by Ecoexist and Fab India to mark World Environment Day. To be held on June 9 at the Fab India outlet near Jehangir Hospital,the exhibition will showcase seven designs made by 24 students of SID. All of them are made of recycled and waste material,trying to emphasise the ongoing eco-friendly design movement in fashion circuits.

Design ideas include a gown made of shower curtains and wax,a dress made entirely of old plastic ocher mats and tyre tubes. Another design used spoilt film negatives sourced from photo studios to make a fitted short dress. Sonika Sonehas,head of the department,says,” We have been trying to promote the use of such materials,but it’s not always easy to make durable stuff out of it,which is why we teach non-textile modules.”

For the exhibition,Ecoexist has contributed a fabric woven from plastic. “We are using the fabric to make something different,” says Navale. “We realise the ease with which a fabric can be worked around. Our garments are really very delicate,the fabric is a more practical solution. Also,sourcing our material was a task,we had to make sure that all reusable materials are put together.”