Lithuanian designer Ieva Keliauskaitė-Mališauskaitė has graduated from a prestigious design school in Glasgow, where she became passionate about zero-waste fashion. Her clothes are not only waste-free but also convey a social message.
The designer, also known as Mali Keli, cuts garments and sews clothes in a way that leaves no waste behind. For example, she turns the fabric, which was left after making a jacket, into a scarf.
Keliauskaitė-Mališauskaitė grew up in a creative environment but was not always interested in fashion design.
“I wasn’t even thinking about creating something that already exists in abundance,” the designer said, adding that there are enough clothes on earth for everyone to get dressed for many years to come.
In Glasgow, she chose to study textile design. But it was here that she met one of the world’s pioneers of zero-waste fashion, who was also her teacher, and got inspired to try making clothes in a sustainable way.
“Zero-waste design was like an enlightenment for me. I realised that I can make my ideas a reality and create in a way that leaves no waste behind,” Keliauskaitė-Mališauskaitė said.
According to her, there are not many designers and brands that create zero-waste fashion because the industry is resistant to change.
But Mali Keli’s clothes are not only sustainable. She also often encodes a social message in the fabric’s prints, she said.
Recently, the designer decided to open up about her own mental health issues and her four-year recovery journey.
“[Talking about it] is hard, but it gives me a lot of joy because I really believe that if someone reads it, he or she might see that it is possible to live with these difficulties and to get out of them,” she said.
“I see a lot of sense in talking because if I had seen myself six years ago, it would have had a big impact on me,” Mali Keli added.
According to the woman, she is lucky to have discovered an activity that allows her to create, realise herself, as well as engage in a meaningful dialogue with other people.
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