Indian brand Dash and Dot recently debuted at Paris Fashion Week 2022 and presented their Fall/Winter collection in ready-to-wear silhouettes. The collection that aims to bring accessible luxury from India to the rest of the world finds inspiration from the rich history of Indian textiles and craftsmanship.
However, the highlight of the fashion show was that each piece had an element of sustainability woven into it. While the coats and jackets were made out of upcycled jute bags with mirror embellishments, the shirts had detailing created with a unique embroidery technique using surplus sewing threads collected from export factories.
"We wanted sustainability to be at the core of the collection. This was an ideal platform for us to showcase Indian artisanship," Ashray Gujral, founder of Dash and Dot, told DH. "The idea coalesced around using sustainable materials and embellishing them with Indian craft."
"The garments had to be luxurious but remain in the ready-to-wear space. We used sustainable and upcycled materials and added value through traditions and crafts typically reserved for the Indian couture space. India has a rich history of textiles, and the time was right to translate that into an easy-to-wear language for the world to access."
It was not until Gujral received a call discussing the show's logistics and the pre-show interview that he started to believe it was all real.
"To be noticed and invited to showcase at the highest level in our industry within a couple of years of our launch was great validation for the work we have been doing and enough motivation to keep going," he said.
Gujral founded Dash and Dot in 2020 as a functional and fashion-forward brand, which only uses vegan leather and post-consumer recycled polyester and organic cotton. He realised there was a gap for a brand to cater to a globally aware yet Indian audience.
"The Indian market is extremely focused on designer-driven labels, many of which are at inaccessible price points. We started with the war cry 'designed, not just designer,' to create functional fashion that would be more accessible and wearable," he added.
The response to the Paris Fashion Week show has been encouraging both from the media and multi-brand stores. With Dash and Dot getting coverage in several European fashion magazines and blogs, Gujral is hopeful that he will achieve his dream of building a domestic brand positioned alongside global giants.
"Our primary mission as a brand remains to bring accessible luxury, well-designed, high-quality ready-to-wear products to the Indian customer. We are from here, and first and foremost for here," said Gujral.
Keeping in mind the buyer's needs, Dash and Dot also offers free size-based customisation.
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