Defining Circular Fashion with Bhaavya Goenka of Iro Iro

In episode 17, I chat with Bhaavya Goenka, founder of IRO IRO. This zero-waste lifestyle and fashion brand works with handweavers in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The brand weaves recycled textiles to create beautiful, modern, and handmade clothing, helping close the loop on textile waste in the fashion industry. They have been featured in many publications and nominated for awards such as Lakmé Fashion Week's Lexus Design Award.

Bhaavya Goenka is a graduate in craft design with a specialization in textiles from the Indian Institute Of Crafts And Design. Her studies involved understanding design intervention in traditional Indian crafts, with a goal to bring contemporary context to them and develop products and services with these traditional practices in the modern fashion industry.

In this episode, Bhaavya and I dive into the importance of industry connections as a student and as a young entrepreneur, and how she leveraged B2B opportunities to grow her brand. We also explore her process of weaving recycled textiles, and the beautiful sense of community and support among circular brands compared to mainstream fashion brands.

“Every opportunity to design is an opportunity to communicate.”

Bhaavya also dives into the story behind her upcoming summer collection that aims to reclaim the color saffron from its connection to extreme nationalism to its original meaning: courage.

Saffron in India is directly associated with highly-religious Hindus and the need to make India a Hindu country. This controversial topic is often a terrifying thought for the many religious and cultural groups that have been residing in India for thousands of years.

Get in touch with this epic young leader at iroirozerowaste.com or on Instagram @iroirozerowaste.