A woman wowed the internet by turning an old nightdress into a trendy outfit. Indira Viswanathan, 23, from Australia, started sewing in high school and now runs her own fashion brand, Ivy By India. On her TikTok, @indoodle, she shares her creations and takes custom orders. Her popular series, Thrift Flip Thursday, shows her transforming “ugly” thrift finds into stylish pieces, like one video that got 124,000 likes!
Indira started with a white, old-fashioned nightdress that was flowy and knee-length with a high collar. She transformed it into a stunning two-piece outfit—a flowing skirt and a fitted strappy top. TikTok users were amazed, with one writing, “WHEN I TELL YOU MY JAW DROPPED.” Others called her “magic” and “so talented.”
One user said, “The way I gasped,” while another joked, “What kind of sorcery is this?”
@indoodle cottage core vibes this week n im lovin it
Viswanathan told Newsweek that she was studying fashion in Melbourne when the Covid-19 pandemic started. During lockdown, she was home alone with nothing to do except sew, so she spent all day working on her sewing machine. She then started her online brand, first focusing on swimwear. Once the pandemic eased, she began selling a variety of clothes at market stalls.
In 2023, Viswanathan moved to Paris to take a business fashion course, while still sewing every day in her small Paris apartment. She felt inspired by the thrift stores she discovered in Paris and across Europe. Passionate about sustainable fashion, she came up with the Thrift Flip Thursday idea after finding thrifted pieces that could be transformed with some changes. She started sharing her thrift flips and sewing creations on TikTok in 2021 and is thrilled that people love her content.
“It really makes me happy to see people excited about my thrift flips and even inspiring others to try sewing too.”
The global market for resale clothing has grown a lot recently, with more people interested in thrift shopping and using online platforms like Vinted and Depop. In 2020, the market was valued at $20 billion, according to Statista. Right now, Viswanathan is focused on growing her clothing brand by using repurposed clothes, but she admits that scaling this up is challenging.
“I believe this is an important, sustainable way to approach the fashion industry, and my goal is to keep thrift flipping and find a way to include it in my business.”
She also said, “It’s a really important message to share, encouraging people to move away from…”
