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New Delhi: In the fickle world of fashion, the sari is the one garment that will endure, says British designer Stella McCartney. "The sari will always be there," McCartney, the daughter of former Beatle Paul McCartney, said during a conference call at the International Herald Tribune Sustainable Luxury Summit here on Thursday.
"It's an incredibly stark and stunning piece of material," she maintained. The response came on a question from IHT fashion editor Suzy Menkes on whether McCartney considered the sari a sustainable garment. "Oh yeah, absolutely. It'll always be there," McCartney, who is known for her efforts to promote environmentally-friendly fashion, said.
‘Don't abandon the sari for jeans’
McCartney was to have attended the summit when it was originally scheduled for December 2008. Since the event was rescheduled due to the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, her other commitments kept her away.
But then, the sari was not the only thing Indian that McCartney was gushing about. "Indians have got fantastic access to materials and have a great eye and hand and their embroideries and handwork are the best in the world," she maintained.
Elaborating on her environment promotion efforts, McCartney said: "I do not use fur or leather in my products. It's not because I do not eat them (animals) but I personally believe there is a connection between fur, leather and the environment.
"If you consider that half a billion animals are killed annually (for their fur and leather), I believe it has a huge impact on the environment, hence it is a conscious decision," she added. In this context, she noted that India was one of the world's largest producers of leather and this had caused a negative impact on the environment.
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"India is one of the largest producers of leather in the world and we can see the kind of impact it has had on the Indian rivers. They are getting very polluted day by day and with a large number of Indian people living by the rivers, it has a bad impact on their lives too," McCartney contended.
As for the solution, she said: "We have to given them the tools to change. We have to help them think responsibly and act responsibly."
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