A reflection of the sustainable and slow fashion, Buna is an Indian homegrown label that focuses on creating classic and comfortable pieces that are crafted with subtle hints of bohemia. The brand creates designs that emphasize the artisanal led techniques of weaving and hand block printing, to generate handloom cottons, summer silks, linen, organza, wool and dainty trims. The latest collection Fura Fura, is made with hand crafted techniques like tie-dye, marbling and block printing, in pastel sunset colors. The vintage inspired smocked organza dresses, with dense forest prints, are dreamy and nostalgic. Made in the finest varieties of handwoven chanderi, tissue and muslin, with a rich and sheer texture, the Meraki collection is a splendour of free flowing silhouettes clad with crystalline. Launched in 2017 as an e-store first, Buna has now opened its flagship store in the bylanes of MG Road in New Delhi. With sustainability as the foundation, the store is visioned as a space to saunter and take time to look around closely. Every architectural element is kept minimal and created using natural materials. The brand also focuses on optimizing the limited resources and crafts garments with conscience. It uses eco-friendly packaging -- compostable plant made plastic, seed tags made from t-shirt waste and reusable cloth bags.
The pieces housed at the store include collections of the past two years, along with the latest collections Fura Fura and Meraki, all displayed in an aesthetic and soulful manner. The store also has an ongoing sample sale with special discounted prices. Designer Pallavi Shantam tells us about the challenges of opening a store during the pandemic:
The Challenges
It was challenging and introspective. Buna was launched in 2017 with its e-store www.bunastudio.com. We always wanted to have a physical store to give a touch and feel experience to our customers. It was planned before the pandemic in January 2020 but was postponed due to the lockdown. We restarted work on it in September and completed it recently. It is a studio-store as it is located in the same building as our studio. The store has glass windows which provide an insight of the production process at the workshop situated next door.
We are mostly working on the concept of shop by appointment and complying with the norms of hygiene and social distancing in our store. The current situation is causing us to question our buying behavior and is also increasing the value of local products. In my opinion, this is also an opportunity for small labels like us, as sustainability and regionality have become even more important for our society.
The Inspiration
One value I inherited from my father is that ‘work is worship’, and it has helped me wade through some challenging times in my life. This value has helped me to remain focused and motivated during the lockdown and beyond. It has been a time to pause and reflect; doing yoga, meditation and gardening. These have inspired me to introspect, make conscious choices and create something meaningful. When we couldn’t get our handloom weaving done due to the pandemic disruptions, we concentrated on something that could be done in-house. We experimented with techniques like hand marbling and tie dyeing in our printing workshop in Jaipur. The result is our latest collection, Fura Fura, which has been received very well by our online customers worldwide. The situation has actually helped me to slow down, unwind and keep my mind open to fresh perspectives. It has given me the opportunity to experiment more with my creativity and devote more time to research and development. Keeping morale and motivation up for our team of artisans and staff is also as important as keeping myself creatively stimulated. Design is a synergy between the designer and the artisan. We have kept things flexible with our team, taking it one day at a time, and have worked on achieving short term goals.
Over the last few months, I have realized that we have to slow down and present something meaningful to our customers. We’ve also made fewer collections this year. The commercial side of things has suffered, but the creative side has certainly prospered. This is a true reset, with an emphasis on what we really value in life. At Buna we believe that the pandemic is a result of us being totally out of tune with nature. And we must play our part in restoring that balance through supporting artisanal communities, recycling, upcycling and making conscious eco-friendly business choices. This time has motivated us even more to work towards our sustainable goals.
For more log on to the label's website: .bunastudio
