Today on the blog,  we chat up with Vibitha Edward, Design Principal and Founder of Vie – an accessory design house based in Chennai. Read on …

Tell us a bit about yourself

Hi, I’m Vibitha Ida Edward, in short Vie.

Born into a “Button making” family, I have been exposed to manufacture, design, craftmanship from a very young age. As a result I did my visual arts from Loyola College, where for my final project I used buttons from our factory for a themed photo-shoot. After graduating I pursued Photography briefly, assisting reputed fashion photographers. I went on to pursue my masters from UK and that’s where I was introduced to upcycled fashion as a means of contributing towards a sustainable environment. Thus sparked the idea of designing handmade accessories using buttons from natural materials, thereby redesigning and up cycling our own buttons.

Why is making so important to you? 

I’d like to nurture reusing and repurposing when it comes to fashion. I design most of my clothes using my mom’s old sarees and fashion them into desired outfits. I don’t lookout for fabrics. Similarly the buttons I repurpose are excess or rejected pieces from production. Since they are made from natural raw materials each button has its own texture and sheen to it. These small errors and distinctions is what I love the most about our buttons.

Through upcycling our buttons into jewellery, I’d like to convey to the consumers the different kinds of natural buttons and bring awareness about the mass produced plastic/polyester aka “cent buttons” that are toxic to the environment as opposed to the limited production of natural buttons in horn/shell/coconut/wood aka “dollar buttons”. Since we redesign and up cycle, usage of machinery is eliminated thus keeping the wastage and toxic emissions to a minimum. All are products are hand made since the buttons are not uniformity in size. That’s the beauty of using natural buttons and toggles. It is truly one of a kind and an abode for collectors of unusual mediums of jewellery making.

How did you begin Vie and how has it evolved over the years?

Ideating for Vie began in 2015 while completing my masters in UK. Since then I’ve constantly been designing using our buttons from the factory as a source of inspiration. I curate and select the most exotic and natural looking buttons from our factory and design around them. The design phase- setting moodboards for seasons and choosing the right colour palette are centered on the buttons I choose for a particular collection. One can say that I work in reverse. Generally designers select their raw materials based on their design. However I structure our designs around the buttons I select for a particular collection. We launched our first collection in Melbourne, Australia in early January 2018. Since our brand is first of its kind, we have many customers coming back to us for appreciating our effort towards a sustainable fashion by up cycling, reusing buttons and they find our jewellery great for gifting their loved ones. We are consciously evolving our buttons into different fashion accessories. We are aiming to reuse fabrics over synthetic fabrics for our clutch/ bag collection.

What is your personal favorite pick from Vie right now? And why?

I absolutely love our toggles from our take it Raw collection. Not many people know what duffle coat toggles are. Nobody has dared to use the duffle coat toggles in fashion other than in winter jackets. We wanted to put the toggles to more fashionable use. We even fashioned earrings out of the scraps left over from making the buttons and toggles. I want our customers to be aware of their button and how something as small as a button that served purpose as a garment fastener could be used more creatively.

What are you displaying at the By Hand, From The Heart?

We have collected semi precious earrings and redesigned a Party Stopper limited edition featuring seashell, river shell and mother of pearl buttons; matching silk clutch adorned with MOP shell buttons and hand embroidered zardozi. We will also be displaying our earthy toned “take it Raw” collection comprising of statement rings, minimal earrings and necklace designed using coat toggles.

Additionally we will be presenting a sneak peek into our upcoming new lightweight collection “Tassau” designed up cycling hand carved coconut shell buttons with colourful tassels.

Meet the Maker @
By Hand From The Heart Makers Market 24th Edition
Friday – Saturday
24th – 25th August, 2018
10:00 a.m to 8:00 p.m
Crowne Plaza Chennai Adyar Park, (old Adyar Gate Hotel)
132, T.T.K Road, Alwarpet, Chennai – 600018, India.

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