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As covered by Lavanya Srinivasan on July 27, 2010

MINC – REVIVING KHADI CULTURE IN BANGALORE!

Khadi is taking the fashion industry by storm and a lot of designers are now vouching for this eco-friendly fabric. MINC, a designer store in Bangalore aims to promote eco-friendly fashion using khadi, vegetable-dyed fabrics and organic cotton.

Khadi is slowly becoming synonymous with fashion. If in the past its claim to fame was its status as a symbol of resistance against British rule, it has now become a fashion statement. Its journey as the fabric favored by revolutionaries, to designer boutiques and elite consciousness has been an exciting one.

While most of us are in favour of promoting eco-friendly we are all unanimous in our search for alternatives that afford us the same lifestyle while promoting a green outlook. Much like having the cake and eating it too. Imagine then if you could pick up a great tunic in cotton that was handspun, hand woven -colored by natural inks and had a great fit but did not shrink, could be tossed into your machine and came out none the worse for it ?! Step into MINC the next time you are in the mood for just such an experience and you will not be disappointed. MINC offers eco-friendly designer wear MINC, MINC petite-for young girls and tweens, and MINC toujours-are labels from the studio Mishan designs at Bangalore. NID alumni Mini Shibu and Cdr Kochery C shibu who are behind the label- both believe in promoting a green lifestyle while at the same time keeping it all practical and sustainable.

Everything at the store is fashioned from natural fabrics, all dyes used to colour are natural, azo free and environment friendly. Even the closures are made from natural materials like wood,coconut or sea shell.

“I’ve always been fascinated with khadi and the versatility of the material is what draws me towards it. The idea was to use hand-spun and hand-woven materials without overdoing the whole khadi image. Our USP is fit, functional and fashionable clothing; all the garments are designed and dyed to perfection. We give special attention to detailing and fit and that’s what makes our clothes stand out,”Says Mini Shibu.

While the niche khadi line keeps you cool and comfortable it is also elegant with a contemporary twist in styling. All of the organic cotton that goes into it is fair trade procured directly from tribal farmers. “We only use organic cotton and we work with a weaving community in Gandhigram who do the whole weaving and dyeing for us. Though organic materials are slightly pricey, we don’t compromise on the quality,”she says.

Though most women apparel stores target the 18-30 age-group, Minc has gone one step further by creating XL and XXL sizes. There are large-sized skirts with embroidery, kalamkari drawstring cotton pants and well tailored formal shirts. And for young adolescent girls are bright red tweed skirts, flower-printed tops, pants with a dash of embroidery and more.”The mothers are completely delighted when they come to shop here, there is so much variety and the kids range is quite extensive. They are literally spoilt for choice,”she adds.

As for the future, Mini wants to bring about a change in the way people perceive khadi.”Khadi is a very versatile fabric, there is so much one can do with this material and moreover it is eco-friendly. Slowly people are now experimenting with it as a lot of designers are using khadi in their collections. In the future I’d like to see khadi becoming synonymous with fashion,” Says Mini.

MINC offers affordable clothing, the price ranges between 650 to Rs 1,800 while the knits start at Rs 350 and go up to Rs 700 and more.

The new MINC store is located at S-62, 2nd floor, Mantri square, Open on all days from 10 am to 9 pm.

MINC
S-62, 2nd floor, Mantri square, Sampige Road
Malleswaram, Bangalore -560003 Map
080-22667114.

MINC is now located at it’s independent store & studio at:  #110, 1st Cross Vivekananda Nagar, near ITC Infotech Park, Bangalore – 560 033