Fish scales — a by-product no one counts — remade into four material families.
A material-led response to ocean microplastic pollution, rooted in the shrinking edges of Bengal's coastal delta.
FASHION'S IMPACT
Sequins break into microplastics → enter the ocean → harm fish → travel up the food chain → return to us.
This contradiction pushed me to rethink what beauty costs.
BENGAL'S IDENTITY
Maache bhaate bangali — fish and rice define us.
Fish sits at the core of Bengali identity: in rituals, weddings, offerings and mythology, in folklore, art and textiles. Daily relevance means enormous consumption — and constant scale waste. Cultural significance and ecological abundance make it the logical material to work with.
THE BENGAL DELTA
Sundarban — a threatened landscape shaping the identity.
The largest delta in the world, shared by India and Bangladesh, home to fishing communities and water-based livelihoods. Rising seas, salinity intrusion, cyclones, collapsing ecosystems — the shore is shrinking as we speak.
THE FISH SCALE
An ignored by-product with abundant potential.
Abundant fishing & food-industry waste
Naturally iridescent
Rich in collagen — bioplastic potential
Fully biodegradable
Worked by hand: dried, ground, cast, dyed — no chemicals
MATERIAL LIBRARY
Four families, one by-product.
bio_sequinsView →
Iridescence without plastics.
scale_leatherView →
Leather tactility, fully bio-based.
scale_compositesView →
Light, translucent, structural.
scale_paperView →
Translucency, texture, memory of water.
THE FULL RANGE
Rather than introducing a new material, the work reconsiders one that already exists.
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© 2026 LAMI TEXTILES — POULAMI SAHA