What's mine is yours

Packed with nostalgic memories, residual scents and the comfort of something familiar, clothes often become storytellers when exchanged with loved ones. Capturing this shared intimacy, four pairs elaborate on how fashion made their hearts grow fonder.

- AKSHARA SUBRAMANIAN

A WORN-OUT LEATHER jacket shared between friends or a pair of walked-in heels alternated between siblings, the intimate ritual of sharing clothing can forge a deeper bond. While material girls get a bad rep for holding on to their prized possessions, these fashionable items often transform into valuable memorabilia.

Perhaps it’s the idea of carrying a piece of someone you love with you wherever you go, or that you have a non-judgemental sounding board to validate your eccentric closet choices and silly phases, or that sharing clothes is simply your love language. Here, some of the industry’s style set describe their fondest experiences of sharing clothes.

NOA INDIGO BLAAKER, 20 AND IRENE AUGUSTIN, 27

TWO ENGLISH-SPEAKING girls meet in a casting room full of French models and become fast friends for life, bonding over travel, fitness and their love of fashion. Noa Indigo Blaaker was born in the Netherlands and raised in the tropical islands of Curaçao, while Irene Augustin shuttles between Paris and her hometown of Bengaluru. They now consider themselves citizens of the world.

Their sisterhood of the travelling pants developed organically. “We had this daily routine of heading to the gym, followed by drinks and dinner over several months,” says Augustin. One day, they spontaneously decided to go dancing and just happened to swap clothes in the locker room. Indigo Blaaker says, “It’s inspiring to see a friend breathe new life into your pieces. Irene has a vintage soul and her aesthetic is very old school. She’s also very upbeat, which brings a whole new energy to how she styles my pieces. ”