The modern fashion industry faces significant sustainability challenges stemming from overproduction, waste, and the loss of craft-based traditions. In response, this project aims to integrate zero-waste design strategies with traditional cultural knowledge to create a garment that embodies sustainability in both environmental and cultural contexts. The design is inspired by the traditional Arkhalig, a long-fitted jacket historically worn by men and women in Iran and the Caucasus region. The piece is an asymmetrical dress crafted from a heritage textile, an Iranian block-printed cotton fabric known as Qalamkar, dyed with natural substances such as pomegranate peel and alum, and printed with wooden blocks in various colors. This garment successfully synthesizes a historical silhouette, sustainable construction, and cultural textiles into a coherent, wearable artifact. It introduces a rarely explored textile tradition, Safavid-era Iranian block printing, into the context of zero-waste design, challenging Western-dominated narratives around sustainability.

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