Delhi-based designer Sunny Sharma converts waste material into clutches, laptop bags and iPad covers. He shares design details with K Bhardwaj
Eco-friendly collections are not only about handspun fabrics and organic colours. There is no dearth of innovative ideas if you look around. Delhi-based designer Sunny Sharma has come up with a collection of accessories completely made out of waste products under label ROGUENRAGS. He collects items from ragpickers and then design accessories from the waste. “We always talk about saving earth and improving the human life. I always wondered if we could come up with something concrete that could actually serve both purposes. I started working on this concept one and a half years back. There are 15 items that I have designed,” informs Sharma.
The collection will be unveiled at Shoe and Bag show at DlF Promenade Mall, Vasant Kunj. His collection consists clutches, purses, laptop bags and iPad covers. “Ragpickers sell their items to wholesale dealers. But we are buying directly from them since I want to eliminate the role of middlemen who usually take away all the profits. So they come to us and we give them the minimum wages offered by the government dealers,” says Sharma, who has been into fashion industry for two decades.
The product line belongs to environ-shopping and each creation is made by the use of materials like tyre tubes, silk scraps, polypropylene and commodity canvas bags. Sharma says his clientele cannot be any buyer. “Our focus would be the well-travelled people who are aware and conscious. We are going to be very patient. We are not in hurry to make quick money,” he says.
Sharma, who also runs a label in UK, was helped by two more professionals. “We are a group of three people. My job primarily is to study market and formalise the concept. Then my associate Poonam does the designing part. Patricia, another associate from England also helps in research,” he adds. The price range is from Rs1,500-8,000.
Sharma also shares two future campaigns. “One will be online. We want to spread word in the virtual world. Second, we are collaborating with an NGO that deals with ragpickers,” he shares.
Every year, the brand would come up with five collections. “From each collection, we would help one ragpicker. We would rehabilitate them, bear all their expenses,” says Sharma, who began with the export business in Delhi.