In India, a second life for saris

LETTER FROM NEW DELHI Sari on mannequin for demonstration, in Sant Hirdaram Nagar, India, in 2018. SUYASH DWIVEDI/WIKIMEDIA Nestled in Andheri, a suburb of Mumbai, the workshop resembles a buzzing beehive. The seamstresses left their sewing machines, time to devote themselves, this October 11, to a puja (“prayer”) to celebrate the goddess Durga, symbol of the victory of good against evil, which can ensure prosperity. Several pairs of large scissors were lined up on a workbench, covered with flower petals, to be blessed. They have given work to hundreds of disadvantaged women for ten years, who work here to give a second life to saris. In a first room, cluttered with fabrics and patterns, a man examines an old sari on a table lit by neon. He identifies each defect, each wear and tear on which he places small sticker squares. The fabric then passes into expert hands who will cut the fabric using patterns, bypassing the defects. In an adjoining room, dozens of seamstresses assemble and sew to make new, contemporary pieces for an international audience. The result will be unique, high-end models of jackets, bombers, vests, kimonos, bags, yoga items, jewelry, home items, sold exclusively for export to a thirty countries, notably France, Italy and Spain. The Indian market is very narrow, given the caste bias, which makes it difficult to wear clothes of unknown origin. I Was A Sari was born in 2014, with a modest workshop in the slum of Dharavi, the largest in Asia, launched by an Italian, Stefano Funari, keen to promote the emancipation of women. “When I arrived in India in 2011, I started working on projects that supported children in slums. Then I quickly realized that the most effective way to help these children was to empower their mothers. This is what pushed me to work with disadvantaged women,” he confides. Ten years have passed and the company has seven production centers. Some 350 people work there, including 300 women. “We are growing year after year and we will continue to develop,” explains the boss in his modest office, located on the first floor, between seamstresses and the marketing department. Read also | Article reserved for our subscribers In central India, green cotton weaves its web Read later The Chor Bazaar souk To streamline its structure, the company outsourced production to two non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Community Outreach Program and Animedh Charitable Trust, engaged in professional sewing training programs. I Was A Sari designs the products, sources materials, manages sales and marketing, logistics, and oversees quality control. You have 52.26% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.



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