At the forthcoming edition of Lakme Fashion Week (LFW), IMG Reliance in collaboration with the United Nations in India will host an action-oriented dialogue on the northeastern region (NER) followed by a curated show featuring six sustainable fashion designers from the region on Sustainable Fashion Day on February 1.
The five-day fashion week will start on January 31 and day two will be dedicated to textiles and sustainable fashion.
The collaboration with the United Nations in India aims to boost the local sustainable economy of the NER. It is an attempt to showcase the exciting potential of the region to mainstream stakeholders, including brands and designers.
At the show, the six featured designers will tap into an evocative tradition of weaves to propel movement towards creating supply chain frameworks that can provide sustainable livelihoods for artisans and bridge the gap between the NER and industry stakeholders.
Several leading champions doing transformational work in sustainability will be part of this dialogue that will be led by Yuri Afanasiev, Resident Coordinator, United Nations in India.
"At the United Nations, we see the northeast as not only an abundant source of natural resources but also a powerhouse of economic opportunity. The Lakme Fashion Week is a great showcase for the rich cultural heritage of this remarkable region.
"We are proud to support creative young designers from the Northeast and hopeful that this dialogue will provide a framework for sustainable production and consumption practices that promote livelihoods through creation of modern and stable supply chains," Afanasiev said.
Designers from six of the eight northeast states (Manipur, Assam, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh) will champion their work with artisans and are part of the curated showcase by IMG Reliance.
The designers are Daniel Syiem, Kuzu, Jenjum Gadi x Exotic Echo Society, Khumantem, Tilla by Aratrik and Sonam Dubal.
Jaspreet Chandok, Vice President and Fashion Head, IMG Reliance, said: "We are glad that we have developed a platform to engage key stakeholders and work towards building the economy of the North East. To create a call to action for structuring collaboration models between the north-east and the industry has greatly excited all of us. We are happy to initiate these meaningful dialogues and interventions and to highlight the real and solid actions taken by industry leaders as well as build conviction on the need to invest in the long-term sustainable development of the northeast."
"We thank the United Nations in India for their support and are also excited about IMG Reliance's collaboration with the British Council and Fashion Revolution to support a designer and her craft from the northeast," he added.
The British Council's global Crafting Futures programme will be coming to India in collaboration with IMG Reliance and Fashion Revolution, an organisation that celebrates fashion as a positive influence while also scrutinising industry practices and raising awareness of the most pressing issues facing the fashion industry.
This collaboration brings British designer Bethany Williams and Indian designer Aratrik Dev Varman of the Tilla label together to explore new fashion systems and approaches with female textile artisans in the NER.
--IANS
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