Supported by: Indian Institute of Interior Designers, Fashion Design Institutes and Fashion Designers

Multiple Venues

In the world of Apparel or Fashion Design, before any fabric is touched, dress patterns are almost always first created and cut on paper. This process is called drafting. Paper is much cheaper to use in the beginning than fabric of any kind. Paper allows the dressmaker or designer to build a 3D garment shape and test if the fit is correct without risking expensive materials. Once the pattern is perfected on paper, it can be used over and over again to make multiple dresses. We take this idea and turn it on its head by inviting artists, fashion designers and fashion design students to create their show-stopping ideas with paper, celebrating this foundational material for its versatility of textures, structural strength, colours, lightness, flexibility as well as possibilities of combination with other materials. This is a part of the overarching theme of the India Paper Triennial : Audacity and Adventure! 

Alongside garments – accessories, jewellery, headpieces, footwear and other wearable creations are also sought, to challenge conventional ideas of fashion. Whether inspired by traditional craft techniques or contemporary design, submissions should express the extreme genius of conceptual and artistic interpretations. Designers are also encouraged to explore sustainable practices, innovative fabrication methods, and new ways of combining paper with other materials. At its core, Wearing Paper is about the relationship between paper and the human body, celebrating how an everyday material can be transformed into something meaningful, unexpected, and visually compelling through creativity, craftsmanship, and thoughtful design.