Priya Ahluwalia followed British castoffs from a Lagos market to Panipat, photographed the shredding
Priya Ahluwalia is on the London Fashion Week schedule, and the label started with a research trip rather than a mood board. She travelled to Lagos in 2017, noticed traders wearing clothes carrying obscure British graphics, and followed the trade to Panipat in Haryana, where she photographed the recycling industry.
Sweet Lassi, the book that came out of it, was a limited edition sold through Machine-A and Claire de Rouen in London, with contributions from Sarah Mower and Ben Reardon. Her graduate collection at the University of Westminster was collaged from secondhand garments, and she launched the label in 2018. She has since worked with Adidas Originals, Mulberry and Puma on the same principle: waste back into clothes.
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The post, as it ran
01PRIYA AHLUWALIA SAW BRITISH GRAPHICS ON THE SECONDHAND CLOTHES IN A LAGOS MARKET IN 2017, AND WENT LOOKING FOR WHERE THEY END UP.
02THE ANSWER WAS PANIPAT, NORTH OF DELHI, WHICH SHE CALLS THE GLOBAL GARMENT RECYCLING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.
03BALES ARRIVE THERE FROM AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN DONATION BINS. THE CLOTHES ARE SORTED, SHREDDED BACK INTO FIBRE AND SPUN INTO YARN.
04THE YARN IS WOVEN INTO BLANKETS AND CARPETS, AND THE BLANKETS GO TO AID CAMPS ACROSS AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST.
05SHE PHOTOGRAPHED IT AND PUT IT IN A LIMITED RUN BOOK CALLED SWEET LASSI, SOLD OUT OF TWO LONDON SHOPS.
06THE COLLECTION THAT CAME WITH IT WAS UPCYCLED MENSWEAR CUT FROM SECONDHAND CLOTHES, FOR HER MASTERS AT WESTMINSTER.
07SHE STARTED AHLUWALIA IN 2018 ON DEADSTOCK AND VINTAGE CLOTH, AND SHOWS IT IN LONDON.