Contrary to popular belief, fashion and thoughtfulness go hand in hand. If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that making conscious and thoughtful decisions is important – and the same rule extends onto our fashion choices as well. And as you gear up to celebrate International Women’s Day donning our finest outfits for dinner and drinks with our favourite girls, we urge you to make fashion choices that are conscious and sustainable.
And if you’re looking for cues about what thoughtful fashion really means, we’ve got your back. We got six incredible women, who are absolute bosses in their respective fields, to tell us what it means to them. Here’s what they had to say. PS: Ladies, feel free to take notes!
Ruchika Sachdeva
Founder and Creative Director, Bodice
“I think it’s high time we start to question the impact our choices have on the environment. This responsibility has to be equally divided amongst those who are designers and brand owners, and those who are consuming the products. So thoughtful fashion for me would be careful consideration of choices from seed to stitch for the designers, and the kind of products you choose for the consumers.”
Sakshi Sindwani
Influencer
“I rewear a lot of my clothes because I want to show the viewers it’s very cool to rewear the clothes! There are ways to rewear your clothes that won’t make it look like you’re actually rewearing them. Despite creating a lot of fashion content in the last three years, I’ve only owned three pairs of trousers that I wear with everything, and that I style everything with. Because of my profession, because I’m a fashion content creator, it is not always feasible to be sustainable. Hopefully, I will be brave enough to do that in the future!”
Namrata Rana
Director-Strategy and Brand, Futurescape
“When you buy your clothes, remember one thing – buy responsibly. Also, reduce waste, by wearing your clothes more often. And when I say buy responsibly, what I really mean is buy clothes that benefit people, and the planet.”
Nitya Arora
Founder, Valliyan
“If you are a consumer, it’s really important for you to ask the right kind of questions, and have the right attitude while shopping and buying products. Ask questions like ‘who is it made by?’ and ‘where was it made?’. In the same manner, designers and manufacturers need to be a little more aware and mindful of their practices.”
Nupur Asthana
Filmmaker
“If more and more design houses were to embrace newer textiles, made from, say, food and agro-waste, they would be working with nature instead of against it. And if they could find a way to manufacture nature friendly fashion without pricing it exorbitantly, then more and more consumers would be incentivised and induced to indulge in guilt-free fashion and reduce their carbon footprint. We need to consume less, reduce, reuse, recycle and do our bit for the environment as well.”
Aishwarya Sharma
Fashion Activist, Entrepreneur, and Goal 10 Ambassador with United Nations
“Fashion for me has always been about impacting social change. I believe fashion, on the contrary, has got less to do with your appearances and way more to do with your own thoughts. It truly has the power to elevate people, if used effectively and thoughtfully.”
And as for us? Our top advice for being thoughtfully fashionable is opting for brands that are working towards a more eco-friendly lifestyle, for instance, brands that use fabrics from LIVA, while also being comfortable and stylish. Take our word for it!
