What is Sustainable Fashion?: Read an exclusive excerpt from a book by designer Vino Supraja

Our wardrobes have evolved; the trunk has made way for shelves and closets. The stories they once held are being forgotten too. A designer reflects.

My paternal grandmother used to keep her clothes in a small steel box, famously called the trunk box of those days. All her clothes, including daily wear, inners, silk sarees for special occasions, everything went into that single box.

Vino Supraja’s eponymous label uses natural fibres and pigments. She offers to buy items back from customers after 18 months, in exchange for purchase points. She recently won an award for her unusual fashion formula. (Photos by Deepak Renganathan)

My maternal grandma had specific fashion choices. She loved sarees. She had a bigger wardrobe, a two-layered shelf, and every single piece of her clothing was able to fit in the shelf. My mom was a fashionista of her time. She had a variety of sarees from different parts of India, matching blouses and inners to pair with the sarees.

Her wardrobe was considered extensive in her friends’ circle. That was a single steel rack with four shelves. Even when I was a child, I remember having a limited number of clothes. But as I grew, the size of my wardrobe also did.

And how big is it now? GIGANTIC.

We all must think about the sizes of our wardrobes. Do we need so many clothes? Do we use them all?

The occasion of buying clothes

Buying clothes was a big deal once. Every family had a budget for buying clothes. They planned, saved, looked for quality and bought clothes occasionally. Buying clothes itself was a rare celebration. I remember waiting for the new dress the day before Diwali, getting a dress for my birthday. New clothes were special.

The dress was special, not because it was expensive or well-tailored or from a big brand, but only because it was rare, and it came along with some vital moments to celebrate. Now, we buy clothes for no specific reason. When we stroll in a mall with a friend to have coffee, if we find a SALE X% signage, we breeze into the store and grab as many clothes as possible. Our wardrobe can still look complete without that 27th t-shirt we picked on sale, just because it was cheap and affordable, not prioritizing the quality or craftsmanship. Clothes are not a necessity anymore.

Supraja hopes the book will help consumers make more informed fashion decisions, she says. (Photo: Deepak Renganathan)

Where are our wardrobe stories?

When you open the wardrobe, aka the Trunk box of a granny, she will have tales to tell you about every single piece she owns. “This I bought on our second wedding anniversary - This saree was inherited from your great-grandma.” You can see her eyes twinkling with excitement while explaining. You can feel her love for every single piece. Her trunk was filled with stories and love.

What are our wardrobe stories? Do we have special memories of all the clothes we have? We bought many of them just because they were on sale or we thought they were cheap, not because they are unique. So, the clothes we own don’t mean anything to us. Hence, it becomes easy for us to throw them away without feeling bad. They have no sentiments attached. No love. So, now do you understand why the landfills are getting piled up with discarded clothes?

Please do not think that I am questioning and blaming you for all the pollution. As I have already confessed, I was also part of the guilty group that hoards clothes... But, when I realized that I have the power to bring a change by just making minor changes in my buying behavior, I tried... I am doing my part.

(Excerpted with permission from What is Sustainable Fashion? by Vino Supraja; 2022)