Sharkah Chakra jeans are an innovative addition
to the world of high fashion. Using only hand made, hand weaved denim, Sharkah Chakra jeans are made from
certified Fairtrade cotton with artisans using a dyeing process that is 100%
natural.
The label combines the traditional craftsmanship and tailoring values
typically associated with luxury houses from a bygone era, with a contemporary,
eco-friendly manufacturing process. With many brands making green claims of
varying degrees of credibility, Sharkah
Chakra – through avoiding harmful AZO dyes and offsetting carbon emissions
- can justifiably lay claim to having created the greenest jeans available in the world of fashion.
Sharkah Chakra has been founded by 29 year old Sara Simmonds - formerly the denim buyer at Harvey Nichols, London - whose belief in craft and individuality has enabled the development of the world's first handmade denim. Her label proudly stands firm in an age of fast fashion, with jeans that are built to last for a number of years, far beyond the ubiquitous half season period that many of her contemporaries embrace.
The Fairtrade endorsement ensures that everyone involved making the jeans benefits as much as possible; including the African cotton farmers and the Indian artisans. Ultimately, the end consumer is also a beneficiary of the timeless and superior pieces produced.
The dyeing process used by Sharkah Chakra is 100% natural. Using a superior count of certified Fairtrade organic cotton sourced specifically from Africa, the yarn is woven by hand in India on traditional wooden selvedge looms, and taken to Italy to be laundered and finished by the original denim masters.
The indigo heritage of Sharkah Chakra dates back thousands of years to Japan one of the first countries where natural indigo was found and extracted from the indigoferra plant. Age old techniques of dyeing by hand are combined with the latest in eco technology to create the worlds only denim made using 100% natural indigo.
From the plant, dye masters extract the indigo which is then dipped and sun dried to varying degrees to give the range of vintage washes characteristic of Sharkah Chakra. As all the dyeing is done by hand the colour and shade of each pair of jeans varies in tone making each pair a bespoke jean, unique to the owner.
Sharkah Chakra denim is hand woven, hand cut and hand tailored. At the same time as being an exclusive product in how it has been designed it is inclusive in how it has been made. Traveling to India, Sara spent many months working with global denim experts, researching the weaving villages to find the best artisans who could create Sharkah Chakra's signature hand woven cloth, using the skills they learnt from their ancestors. Fourteen artisans work exclusively for Sharkah Chakra and each pair of jeans takes half a day to weave. Like any work of art, each pair is signed by the craftsman that wove them, creating synergy between the weaver and the maker.
From India the denim cloth continues its journey to Italy, which is considered the finest country for denim tailoring and finishing. Here the jeans are hand tailored to give a luxury fit that is wearable for years to come. Once the jean has been made, a trademark 9 carat gold rivet is added so people can be assured that they have a genuine pair of Sharkah Chakra jeans.
Using Sara's professional expertise with denim, Sharkah Chakra jeans have been cut and sewn to mould to the body as they are worn in. The care and attention within the manufacturing process ensures that the jeans can be worn for many seasons.
Sharkah
Chakra means hand make life when translated from the
original Hindi, and its this philosophy that imbues all of Simmond's work :
"I
believe that the future is about slow fashion and making luxury pieces last so
I have created a collection based on a wardrobe full of iconic pieces with new
cuts and washes to be added each season"
For women there are currently two styles: Orcha (a straight, cigarette pant) and Bimala (a bootcut). For men there are two cuts, both based on vintage styling: Cacharias (a straight leg) and Godavari (a relaxed fit)
Sunbaked White:
New for Spring Summer 2008, the Sunbaked White has been carefully constructed to be the first ever white denim that is 100% chemical free and environmentally friendly. The white denim is made naturally using the traditional technique of sunbleaching. The organic cotton is left for a set time to sunbleach and slowly bake eventually turning to a brilliant, optic white.
Nude Neela:
The intense blue of Nude Neela, Sharkah Charka's signature colour, is created with 20 dips into pure natural indigo and is exclusive to Sharkah Chakra. It contains an ancient colour recipe known only to a few remaining craftsmen.
Lotus Sky:
This vintage wash is achieved with fewer dips into the pure natural indigo before being left to sundry naturally in India. In this wash, the colour variance is superb, with some jeans looking vintage blue, some grey and each getting better the more they age.
Sharkah Chakra jeans are available at Harvey Nichols, Matches, Liberty, Bamford & Sons
and online at www.sharkahchakra.com
Prices from £195
For further information or images please contact Joanne Sopher or Dee Vesali at Intelligent PR
joanne@intelligent-pr.com / dee@intelligent-pr.com
62 Shaftesbury Avenue
London W1D 6LT
Phone - +44 20 7287 7222