Sandhais (marketplace in Tamil) is a platform where communities come together to celebrate their livelihoods — it is the true mark of sustainable living in farming communities.
Papreeka, a city brand founded by Dhanya Balasubramanian, follows the sandhai format — products are being sourced from communities and artisans. Recently, the brand showcased its collection at the New York Fashion Week — they brought together an entirely handmade collection made from natural materials like clay, recycled metal, upcycled silver, glass, dhokra brass, and responsibly sourced leather.
“Presenting the collection at the New York Fashion Week was a dream-come-true for Papreeka and its women-led sustainable brand partners. We partnered with international clothing brands based in New York and showcased our accessories collection over two shows, at a rooftop venue in the SoHo neighbourhood of New York City. The show was star-studded — attended by celebrities and industry veterans who are encouraging new talent like us. Being a sustainable brand, we got even more appreciation for our creativity and venture,” Dhanya Balasubramanian tells DT Next.
Varied cultures and cities showed Dhanya that the world was ready for Indian products in a big way and that we needed to shape the design aesthetic in a meaningful narrative. “Papreeka is that dream in reality with a strong foundation of conscious people, place and product practices. Taking this dream to the New York Fashion Week and representing India on such a global stage was an honour for us. We partnered with six homegrown Indian brands that are all women-led and curated a collection from their creations for the show. Being a sustainable brand was one of our key USPs and we wanted to showcase that on this platform — so we took jewellery and bags made out of glass, clay, wood, metal, silver, brass and leather. We wanted to prove that fashion can be style first, and yet be well-made of natural materials. That was a huge win for us — to walk the talk about today’s leading conversation around the fashion industry’s impact on the earth,” she adds.
