Recycled Tent

In northern India, a large military base has fostered a thriving trade in surplus military goods throughout the surrounding towns.

The fabrics reflect the environments they once served—green for the jungle, beige for the desert, white for snowy mountains. At the wholesalers, they are gathered together and stacked in towering piles, a sight that immediately captured my attention.

The people working there often wear military surplus as everyday clothing. One man stood out in particular, wearing a sleeper train sheet wrapped around his head as a turban. There was something effortlessly stylish about it that has stayed with me ever since.

The large military tents are first washed, then carefully cut to avoid original details such as eyelets and window fittings. Sometimes, pieces from dismantled tents are stitched together to create a single sheet of fabric before being transformed into a new product.