Ashutosh Panda
Ashutosh Panda
INDIA
“What inspired me the most is that our own universe follows a circular design process to create stars.”
Ashutosh Panda found inspiration for his sustainable collection by looking to the stars — specifically, the magnetar, one of the most powerful neutron stars of the universe. “When a supernova explosion happens, many particles spread out in the universe. Then gravity pulls them back together and a star is born. So, it’s a repeat circular process,” he shares.
Discovering that the universe itself followed circular design processes, the designer became determined that he too could create beauty in this way.
Ashutosh was also inspired by the traditional Ikat handloom art in his hometown of Sambalpur, Odisha in India. “My vision is to make this handloom craft more beautiful and powerful by following the same circular design principle,” shares the designer, who holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Fashion Designing from Pearl Academy, India.
In his collection ‘PILLARS of CREATION’, Ashutosh weaves new fabrics out of leftover yarn collected from a weaver family in a small village in Bargarh, Odisha. While Ikat weavers tend to buy new yarns and tie-dye them in different colours and patterns, Ashutosh recognised an opportunity to do something different, instead collecting their warp and weft yarn scraps to build his collection. He also sources trims from old garments.
Tightly weaving the yarns in the handloom creates a high-quality and durable fabric, contributing to its longevity. Additionally, the handweaving process produces a softness that can be felt and appreciated by the wearer for a long time to come. As the yarns are made fully from cotton, the garments are also highly recyclable.
Colours are carefully chosen so they can be repeated throughout the fabrics and motifs. Since the rescued yarn is already available in multiple colours, the design reduces the usage of water and chemicals that would otherwise have gone into the dyeing process.
Observing that some weavers are leaving their profession because their craft cannot support their families, Ashutosh hopes to advocate for them through revitalising their yarn. “In order to make fashion more sustainable, we have to take action from the grassroots level, as I have done by using these yarns and embracing the luxury of handcraft.”
With hundreds of weaving communities present in the state of Odisha alone, Ashutosh sees a great potential in partnering with more weavers to produce fabrics on a larger scale and take his craft to the next level.
