How did 2 Pakistani sisters who made designer products from torn old clothes gain global fame?

Nothing is useless. You can also make old things new. ‘Hailing from Karachi, the provincial capital of Pakistan's Sindh province, Zanera and her two sisters have made a business that probably happens in every household.

These sisters create artworks from torn old clothes, which are now in demand from outside Pakistan. From Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai to coke studio Pakistan artists, their buyers are among their buyers.

Looking at the products made by Zanera, Anoushe and Hira Ansari, one cannot guess that the basic materials used in them consist of items and clothes that people throw in the garbage along with the garbage or sell it to the scrap dealer.

In fact, these sisters design beautiful and attractive clothes and shoes with the help of torn old clothes and similarly used items, which is not only a source of income for them, but at the same time the method they use is also environmentally beneficial.

But what is this method and how did these sisters come up with the idea? At the same time, how does their business benefit the environment?

When two sisters came up with the idea of making masks during the Corona epidemic

Today, this work of Zanera and her two sisters Anoushey and Hira, and their mother Uzma Javed has become a brand that is also very popular among consumers on social media and they also receive orders from abroad.

But the work from scrap fashion i.e. pieces started with a small thing. Uzma Javed says that she made cloth masks for her daughters during the Corona epidemic, after which she also designed it on shoes.

"I didn't know this little work would become so big," she says. I designed old shoes that my daughter's friends liked so much that they all gave me their old things and requested me to design them in a new way. ‘

Basically, it was Uzma's imagination in which her expertise helped and she reshaped and colored things considered worthless. But how did he learn this and how did he get the idea?

Uzma says that no one taught her this work, but she was born with this skill. She now runs a business with her daughters and the number of orders she receives is gradually increasing.

Zanera says she gets around 50 to 100 orders a month. Zanera herself was fond of painting and now makes and sells designs on T-shirts, jackets, bags, suitcases and shoes with the help of this hobby. Many people ask them to make designs for themselves.

'I was so happy to make shoes for Malala'

The sisters' business gained prominence when they received an order from a prominent personality.

It so happened that Malala Yousafzai's husband Asr Malik contacted Zanera and ordered shoes for his wife. Malala later shared a picture on her Instagram account, after which Zanera and the products she designed gained fame.

"When I was contacted, I told my sisters. I was so happy that I would design shoes for Malala. And they will wear it. ‘

Zanera said Malala's husband had contacted her on Twitter. "They wanted Pakistani culture and truck art to be shown on the shoes. ‘

Not only Malala, Zanera and her sisters have also made jackets and shoes for many singers performing at Coke Studio Pakistan, including Zeeshan Ali.

"People think it's easy."

Zanera's house is no less than an art gallery. As soon as they enter their house, beautiful glasses, decoration pieces, carpets made of old clothes are seen on different walls.

Seeing these things made with different and beautiful colors makes it difficult to believe that none of them is new.

"People think it's very easy. Just pick things up and make them. But that's not the case. ‘

"We have to think of the design first, then we sketch it on a copy, the colors to use in it, the theme to keep, they think and make something only after doing all this work. ‘

Once a month, says Zanera's sister Anoushey Ansari, she goes to various factories, tailors, lace sellers to pick up leftovers.

She says, "Sometimes they go from Karachi, sometimes Lahore and sometimes from some other city and collect things. ‘

As the fame of his work grew, people also started giving them their old clothes.

Zanera says, "People bring old clothes to us and tell us to make it new, they also bring us their leftover laces and buttons etc. that it is of no use to us, do you know if it will be of use to you." ‘

How does the environment benefit?

According to a study, 2700 liters of water is used to make a T-shirt, which is equivalent to bathing 70 times. In such a situation, if an old and worn-out shirt can be made wearable again, it can also save water.

Ansari said that when she started working, she did not know that she was also playing a role in climate change.

"When we started reading about this, we realized that by using old things, we are playing our small but important role. ‘

Anoushe and Zanera say that now with their work, they are also making others aware about how they can improve the environment.