Sustainable, Vegan Accessories Are the Latest Offerings From Anita Dongre

Category: FASHION ACCESSORIES

Country: India

by Femina Fashion
Feb 1, 2023, 17:41 IST

Who doesn’t know Anita Dongre? One of the most venerated names in the Indian fashion business, the designer has spent close to three decades designing clothes. She started her brand with her sister in the balcony of her old house with just two sewing machines over 25 years ago. Today, it has evolved into her company House of Anita Dongre where she designs her bridal couture, ready-to-wear, jewellery, and accessories today. While everyday accoutrements like scarves and dupattas, and occasion-worthy footwear and Indian potli bags have always been a part of Anita Dongre’s accessory offerings, this year, the designer has entered the coveted space of luxury bags. Only she’s looked at these designs through the lens of sustainability and made them with her signature eco-conscious approach. For her new line of luxury bags, Anita Dongre has turned toward plant-based leather MIRUM®. 

“I’ve wanted to do a luxury bags line for the last 25 years,” says Anita Dongre. “The only reason I’ve never done it is because I didn’t know how to make a luxury bag without leather.” It’s not like vegan leather is a concept that hasn’t been explored previously. Though it is easy on animals, these leathers consisted primarily of plastics and their derivatives. “Everybody is using PU and PVC but for the Anita Dongre signature line, I did not want to use either. What changed today is that there are a lot of companies working on materials that look and feel like leather but are made without using animal skin or plastic.” What makes MIRUM® different is its composition. Made entirely out of bioneutral ingredient like Climate Beneficial™ cotton, it is completely recyclable and circular in nature. “When you are substituting any animal product with a new material, it’s important to ensure that the new material is also earth-friendly,” she adds.

Anita Dongre is known for clothes that are classic and rarely indulge in fads. Steeped in heritage handicrafts, she champions designs mildly adjusted to the new-age sensibilities of wearers of every generation that has come to her, but rarely has she strayed away from her signature style. The same design language has been extended to the new accessories. “The idea is that the bag has to be classic and timeless, and nature-inspired,” says Anita. “Even the clothes that I do are as elegant and timeless as ever. I obviously want this bag to be with the customer for a long time. It’s based on the premise of sustainability that you buy less but you buy good. And more importantly, buy something that lasts.” 

‘Simple’, ‘elegant’, ‘functional’ and ‘beautiful’, are the words Anita uses to describe these bags. A previous ambassador of tote bags, she has turned to diminutive numbers since the pandemic that has inadvertently changed the way she travels. From her collection, too, she is biased toward the handsfree-ness that comes along with the Birds of Feather crossbody bag. Does she plan on more accessories edits? Not only is the answer a positive one that’s waited 25 years to become a reality, the aim is to explore more such media. “There’s be many smaller collections with many more plant-based materials in the future,” she signs off.

Courtesy: https://www.femina.in/fashion/fashion-news/sustainable-vegan-accessories-are-the-latest-offerings-from-anita-dongre-255345.html