Taking roadside leaves to global fashion: How Soumya, her 'Elapacha' perfected the art of eco-printing

From gathering random leaves and flowers in her Idukki village to achieving her first eco-print on fabric, Soumya Thomas's journey took at least six years of dedication and experimentation. With no formal training or mentors to guide her, Soumya carved her own path, driven by a singular vision: to create something truly unique. “All I thought was - how can I bring nature’s prints to fabric? Meanwhile, nothing held me back," Soumya, the founder of the fashion brand Elapacha, told Onmanorama. After collecting leaves and flowers, she began steaming them within cotton cloths, an attempt to capture their natural essence.

Soumya's foray into fashion design began during her college years in Ernakulam, where she pursued a degree in fine arts. "I wanted to explore fashion. That’s when the idea of eco-printing first struck me,” she said. When she started experimenting with the technique in 2016, she didn’t know that eco-printing was already being practised in different parts of the world. “There wasn’t a set method for it, and I had no one to turn to. I just kept experimenting, following YouTube tutorials, and taking notes along the way,” Soumya recalls.

Growing up in the remote village of Kanayankavayal, Peerumedu, Soumya faced societal pressure to pursue a conventional career like nursing. However, her parents supported her passion for the arts. “My cousin Sumitha played a key role in my admission to Thrippunithura RLV College,” she says. After completing her master’s degree, Soumya taught painting for four years before fully dedicating herself to eco-printing. “It was during my frequent travels between Idukki and Ernakulam that I started noticing the roadside leaves and felt a deep urge to preserve their beauty,” she explains. Her love for leaves began during her school days when she first learned about photosynthesis. “It amazed me how leaves could create food for plants, much like how my mother would prepare food for us at home. That connection deepened my fascination with them.”

Despite being ridiculed for collecting leaves, Soumya continued her experiments undeterred. Finally, after numerous trials, she achieved her first successful eco-print in 2022. The unpredictability of the process is what excites her the most. “Nature has its own way of surprising us. The colour a plant gives in its print doesn’t always match with what we see in them in real life, and that’s the beauty of it,” she says.

Today, Soumya runs a production unit in Idukki and a stitching unit in Ernakulam, shipping her eco-printed products to clients in Indian cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, and Delhi, as well as countries like Dubai, the US, and the UK. “My products vary from stoles to saris at prices that range from Rs 500 to Rs 45,000, and no two prints are ever the same. Each piece takes at least four days to complete,” she explains. While her most affordable items are made from malcotton, Soumya emphasises that quality and individuality come at a cost. “I aim to make eco-printing accessible to as many people as possible, but at the same time, every piece is unique, and that takes time and care.”

As demand for her creations grows, Soumya sources leaves and flowers both locally and beyond her village. Teak leaves are one of the trendiest materials, but they are not easily available now. Meanwhile, pine and eucalyptus leaves are quite popular. Among flowers, she favours cosmos, roses, and jamanti, particularly for their striking yellow hues. The key to eco-printing, Soumya notes, is choosing the right fabric. “The material has to be pure, protein or cellulose-based; like cotton or linen. You can’t print on synthetic fabrics like polyester.” Each piece of fabric requires at least four days of work, and when stitching is added to the process, it takes even longer.

Despite her success in eco-printing, Soumya remains deeply connected to her first love; painting. She has exhibited her artwork in numerous shows, but it is eco-printing that has become her signature, blending art, nature, and fashion into a form that is as unpredictable as it's enchanting beauty. Now, with a team of over 20 employees, Soumya continues to craft one-of-a-kind fabrics, remaining true to her artistic roots while making waves in the world of global fashion.