Recently I have bumped up as a designer with a wardrobe that is a mash up of a combination of a few great basics and an array of some nostalgic yet kind of wearable items from the past. 

One of the plans which is at the front of my mind as I head into new realms with House of Bilimoria is the idea of oneness- which has its immediate impact on my wardrobe. 

In conversations with my two year difference twin, aka my sister, Sandhya, ringing in my ears is

'Get rid of that shirt, it's disgusting.' 

I laugh, and know that the shirt is not going anywhere. 

The shirt I am wearing is in the better part of 20 years old, the shirt that didn't originally belong to me but my late sister Hina.

The Shirt. 

The shirt travelled, from its purchase that was somewhere in Vancouver BC, in boxes of stuff to the UK. I gladly rocked this shirt in my teens, when it then was hidden from sight for some years to then reemerge into my glance a couple of years ago. 

This conversation with Sandhya had me locked in looking at what I wore each day in a very different light. Watching myself I found that on one day (ALMOST) every item I was wearing had a life span of over 20 years. When I told my kids they laughed and were stunned that these garments had been around longer than they had. Absurd in this day of fast, throw away fashion. Why would I keep something that long?? 

23 years old, why mom?

 

MY AHA MOMENT

It's been a long time coming for me to be able to put this into words and define what it is about clothing that I love. Why I create it yet cannot stand the idea of contributing to a world full of waste. Here comes the LUXCYCLE, or Luxury Upcycle which is the world that House of Bilimoria is ready to throw itself into. 

These shirts, t-shirts, pj's carry with them this thing that Marie Kondo, Japanese organising consultant and author defines as SPARK JOY. These things in some way, shape or form spark joy, each with its journey in my life. In memoirs, on people, on those I love, bring me some joy. 

Another aspect of this is highlighted in Minimalism, A Documentary About the Important Things, where they talk about babies being attached to people in the early years of life and how this after some time translates to us treating 'stuff' with also the same attachment as we would a person. 

Do I hang on to Hina's shirt as a person? Looking more at Minimalism and all the points it brings forth.

Yes. Yes I do.

I am happy to say this and I will keep the shirt! Along with a few other items that VIP's in my life have also worn. 

What these belongings are in dire need of is a LUXCYCLE. Refining, defining and to bring them into elegance that will have me show up in them new. 

One that needs particular attention.

I love the story of stuff, when those items mean something, come with a story, each item does, and did. 

What we can do is transform these old stories into the present. Take them with you, or the parts of them that you wish to. 

Let's start to look at, materialism in the highest form. What is taken for something to be created, from its design, foundation, thread, weave, fabric, craft, tailoring? Recognise the human story and energy that each comes with. 

Just the start of a long journey... I hope that you will join me. 

 

With 

Colour.Love.Light.