Have you ever thought of the clothes you wear on daily basis? Where they come from? Who makes them? And most importantly, where do they end up once discarded? Let me tell me these fast fashion clothes are not doing any good to you or the planet.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has calculated the fashion industry produces 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions every year, while it is estimated to use around 1.5 trillion liters of water annually! Yes, read that again.

Is looking fashionable and trendy worth this price? Above all, can we afford this in the rapid climate change? Can we adopt ways to make the fashion industry ethical? Can we afford anymore landfills? 

Let’s talk about upcycling. We repair machines to make them last longer and we renovate our home. Why can’t we do the same to our clothes? Upcycling is revamping our pre-loved clothes to improve their quality and wearability. It is similar to painting old walls to give them a new and fresh look. It saves the planet and reduces our Carbon footprint.

Thinking about all this, I started my own project of Upcycling: The Last Camp. The garment theme is inspired by my memory of camping as a child. We used to go camping on weekends and have our picnic.

I also recall being disheartened whenever the camping got canceled due to rain. Now, that everyone has gotten busy with their chosen lives, the tents are all we have. The idea is to recycle those tents used for camping and preserve them as memory and token of appreciation of good times.

The coat is made of an upcycled tent. It was for sure a daunting task to upcycle a tent given the material is not easy to handle. The material was glued before stitching to avoid any incorrect stitching marks. The fit was tested several times to get the desired results and the elements were added wisely keeping in mind the current fashion trends.

I wish more tents could be upcycled. I wish we could just rethink about the damage caused before throwing an outfit that is no more in trend. I wish we could avoid the urge to buy that cute little dress from a fast fashion brand and instead buy it from a thrift store or a slow fashion label.

It is underrated how these tiny steps can make a huge difference in the direction our fashion industry is leading today. I wish we could arrange a weekend meeting set for upcycling and revamping our old clothes for nothing feels better than wearing something you have made on your own.

It is very important to clear the myths around upcycling. Upcycled clothing does not mean damaged or discarded clothing. Our wardrobe has a cost but it should not cost us our future.

Impulsive buying needs to stop, the landing of clothes in landfills needs to be checked and we need to make the right choices for the future out coming generation will live in. Misconceptions about thrifting and pre-loved clothing need to be cleared. Fashion has been redefining overages and maybe it's time for a revamp!

(Check out Pranati on Instagram)