The Potplant

SUNDAY POST FEB 22-28

Fuss-free styles, natural fabrics, peaceful colours and endearing packaging is what makes this sustainable brand by Resham Karamchandani and Sanya Suri stand out, admits P S Bhavana

“In the narrow lanes of chum chum gali, on a sultry ordinary afternoon she stood in the verandah on the first floor gazing longingly at the Peepal tree standing tall in the neighbour’s garden. She wanted a tree of her own, a mango tree but they had just a small establishment with little spare space…. She looked away smiling and gazed at the pot in her hand and placed it in the corner… the Tulsi sapling rustling fondly, all ready to evolve.”

The duo that penned this is just early-twenty-something, yet it nurtures a steely grit to dream about ecology and do something to reduce fashion waste. The reason, says “natural dyeing enthusiast” Resham Karamchandani (on behalf of “sustainable junkie” Sanya Suri and their brand The Pot Plant): “We are from eco-conscious families, so from our childhood we were used to reusing paper, saving diary pages and the like.” This thoughtfulness is what brought the girls (one from Agra and the other from New Delhi) together while doing the four-year fashion design programme at the Pearl Academy (Naraina, New Delhi) in 2009. In their final year, their love for eco-fashion also manifested as sustainable collections—Resham’s was made out of naturally-dyed stuff, while Sanya’s was about fusing paper and fabric. Although, after graduating, they went on to work a with designer and handle Do-It-Yourself interior design projects, respectively, the corporate phase did not last long.
In 2014, The Pot Plant was born with sustainability as its seed. Its dictum: To bring cotton back into everyday fashion. “Par woh art-sy and craft-sy cotton look nahin, balki aisa look jo chote bhi pehen saken (well, not that art-sy and craft-sy cotton look, but a look that even the young can wear),” clarifies soft-spoken Resham, who charmingly switches between English and chaste Hindi while talking animatedly. “We wanted to bring the 80s and the 90s back when people used to get their clothes tailored. We wanted the clothes to be ethically-made and be a feel-good, always,” she continues. Today, their brand gets those ‘wants’ spot on.
It projects an ‘eco-chic Alice, lost in Bohemian Wonderland’ mixed with a slight Marni-esque feel, and churns out comfortable silhouettes—shirts, tops, skirts, culottes/palazzos, dresses, and summery peplum jackets—in simple fabrics like chambray, cambric, and voile with checks, prints or weave textures. “Our clothes are not very dressy. They are smart with clean lines, and for people with any figure or size,” stresses Resham. All the shapes come with interesting detailing, too—colour blocks, everyday embroidery (running and chain stitches with contrast threads), tonal prints (pigment, block and screen), and hassle-free or old-world closures (coconut buttons, plain loops, and zippers that are placed away from the body). Both the designers do not prefer to play with bold colours, so they easily gravitate towards soft hues. Talking about the choice of their palette, Reshma clarifies, “Clothes mein ek thanda (cool) effect hona chahiye (clothes should have a cooling effect). Jaise ki (like) something soothing and tranquil.” Spoiler Alert: Their 2015 line may have pop checks and bright shades like pink, yellow and green, but most of these tones will be subdued, as well.
The brand also keeps its design waste to the minimum via recycling and upcyling in the entire marketing process—their packaging like carry bags, tags and hangers are all rehashed items. Even katran (fabric scarps) is not spared. Staying true to its name, which is unrelated to clothing thanks to its Do-It-Yourself plans for the future, the brand presents potted plants in discarded glass jars to clients during fashion exhibitions. The Pot Plant’s spunky clothes, which are priced between INR 1,500 to INR 4,000, are retailed through fashion stores like Options (Ahmedabad), Bliss (Mumbai), Kali (Jaipur), Collage (Bengaluru), Anonym (Hyderabad), www.tadpole.com, www.qreoh.com and https://www.facebook.com/thepotplant.