Beauty in
imperfection Fashion designer Sukhina Garcia is not one for giving up easily. Sukhina’s perfectly imperfect journey to this point hasn’t been easy, but it’s about to take an unexpected, liberating turn WORDS BY EMILY MILLER
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s we sit in a shaded café garden surrounded by green plants, Buddha statues and water features in the leafy suburb of Allandale Road Leicester, Sukhina Garcia, owner of fashion company Betty Brown, reflects on the fact that she’s been let down by clothing manufacturers not once, but twice, the result of which left her not far off from bankruptcy. She’s working hard to come back from that place, and besides, she affirms: “it’s about the future isn’t it? I’m excited about it.” “I’m really nervous too,” she adds before taking a sip of coffee and smiling. “I haven’t really told anyone about this new collection yet… and it’s, well, it’s different!” Intrigued, I set my cup down, loving an exclusive. “Do tell!” She leans in: “OK, well it’s a Japanese and bondage-inspired collection for women, but wait, it’s not how you think! It’s inspired by the Japanese techniques of bondage called Shibari, it’s an ancient Japanese art form using ropes.”
The origin of Shibari is thought to lie in Hojo-jutsu, a martial art used by Samurai in Japan in 1400 to restrain prisoners. To show their prisoners respect, they used rope, different tying techniques and patterns to symbolise the social status of their prisoner, as well as the type of crime. Hojo-jutsu took on a new, erotic form in the late 19th Century and became Kinbaku ‘the beauty of tight binding’ – in today’s western world, it’s called Shibari. Sukhina is using this as her inspiration for equality and feminine empowerment. In the same vein as her previous collections, everything from the cotton produced (organic), which is sourced from a settlement in India where the mothers and women work from home and are fairly paid, empowering them to provide for their families, through to how it’s made is ethical. And this time Sukhina isn’t putting the manufacturing in the wrong hands, she’s working from her workshop solo. “It’s tiring but
I HAVEN’T REALLY TOLD ANYONE ABOUT THIS NEW COLLECTION YET… AND IT’S, WELL, IT’S DIFFERENT!
worth it; I am so happy with the collection so far and can’t wait for people to see it.” The versatile pieces are “wearable, comfortable and empowering” for women; there will also be a tiny section for men and maybe some unisex pieces too. The collection will be launched as part of a three-day exhibition at a secret location this September. Called Wabi-sabi, which means the discovery of beauty in imperfection (the opposite of the western world’s views of symmetry and importance of perfection) the collection encompasses this perfectly imperfect journey that Sukhina has had. What’s more, it carries an important message about feminine power too. “Feminists embody the potential for self-directed feminine power and sexual and intellectual freedom.” Follow @lifeofbettybrown on Instagram for the new collection, set to empower and liberate, launching soon. NICHE | 77
