smruthy simon says we can make clothes out of anything the thrissurbased designer and fashion teacher is now on a mission to make 100 costumes from recycled material for an international competition and he is doing so with everything from newspapers and feathers to discarded soda bottle tops and cigarette coversspeaking about his creations simon says it is not just about creativity or wearability but about showing that any material can be recycled into clothes fashion is one sector which can push for sustainability because it constantly embraces new ideas when simon started his 100dress project of which he has completed 40 he had wanted to showcase it through a fashion event but it had to be shelved because of the pandemicbut in fact this is just one step towards the designers yearslong attempt to create sustainable fabric from an easily available local material which he says is ready for a launch it is a fabric that has been created on an experimental basis but i have been working to launch it in a more widespread manner says the designer he has worked with research and handloom centres to convert the natural fibre into thread that can be woven into a sturdy material this is something that can be done fairly easily but the problem with our handloom centres is that the new generation is not willing to work in the traditional field and the older generation artisans are reluctant to try something new i have been working successfully with them over the past couple of years to finally bring this design into reality he says signing off