At the age of 10 years
when kids are grappling
with toys, Saligao-based Ninoshka Alvares E Delaney had decided to become a
fashion designer, inspired by stalwarts like late Wendell Rodricks.
Persisting with her career choice throughout her life, now 26
years later, Nimoshka is an established award-winning ‘sustainable’ fashion
designer, who designs clothes made of only organic fabrics and dyes.
“I decided pursue Fashion Designing as
a career from the age of 10 years, when I was in school. I was always on the
creative side. I think I was inspired by designers like Wendell Rodricks. In
the mid-90s Fashion Designing was still a nascent field at that time. I decided
to take up this profession and stuck with it despite the fact that it was not
such a common profession,” Ninoshka says.
From a very early stage of her life,
she wished to give back to nature and society in her own little way. Hence,
after working 10 years in the Industry in Mumbai, she relocated to Goa after
marriage, where she launched her label Ninoshka, which focuses on sustainable
fashion.
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“Sustainability for me means giving
back to nature whatever we take from it. The same goes for fashion. Whatever we
wear, throughout its life-cycle, does it go back in nature? Is it absorbed in
the nature? These were the questions I kept asking myself. What we wear creates
pollution. There are micro-fibres that create pollution, causes diseases. Then
I decided to only work with natural fibers, use only natural fabrics and dyes,”
she says.
Nimoshka strives to use organic
material like cotton grown without use of pesticides. She uses natural dyes
such as indigo, pomegranate, marigold, onion peels, coconut, etc. which are
earth and skin friendly.
“I work closely with handloom weavers
from across India and use fabrics such as Khadi, Malkha, Ikat and Chanderi
among others. All the finished products are prepared by me in Goa,” she says.
Most of the embroidery is done on
garments by rural Indian artisans, which creates employment opportunities for
them.
Not only this, she also believes in
‘zero wastage’ philosophy. She reduces wastage and upcycles remnant pieces of
fabric and thread to create new products.
In 2016, Ninoshka was given the
National award for best design for her handloom Indo-western menswear by the
Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. The two consecutive Covid-lockdowns
did adversely hit her business though.
“Since we did lot of physical sales, our business was
hit by lockdowns. That’s when online platforms like Etsy bailed us out as I
could reach out to a global market,” she says. Going ahead, the award-winning
fashion designer wants to explore the international market further
