No longer we live in an era that we can afford to overlook mental health as just another disease. With dramatic increase in work related stress coupled with lack of interaction with our close ones (socialization in person), unrestricted use of social media we are adding more to the alarmingly severe already existing crisis of mental health epidemic. Its high time that we first acknowledge the magnitude of mental health crisis and start looking for solutions from a creative/ productive perspective in addition to the conventional ones.

Multiple campaigns of varying scale and capacity have already been organized by a number of support groups, charities, educational institutes already throughout the world. Lately, some renowned designers have started exploring the potential of taking the campaigns one notch higher by incorporating the concepts related to mental health in their respective commercial collections.

An idea well implemented by the Indian Fashion Designer Masaba Gupta, well known for her flamboyant design skills, in collaboration with sportswear brand Puma is set to catch eyes globally.

The brand primarily serving the millennial generation has shown a concern towards their rising battles of mental illness. Inspired by the feelings of anxiety and restless thoughts, the Masaba x PUMA collection converted the iconic street classic CALI into a canvas for myriad thoughts.

The collection is an ironic blend of clutter and comfort, apt for every stylish traveler. The duo has designed the collection addressing the growing emotional health concerns like anxiety in today’s youngsters. “Anxiety seems like a curse on this generation and therefore the anti-anxiety shoe sheds light on this issue. Identity is another issue that needs to be addressed,” said Gupta.

Another brand from Los Angeles is built on the same idea, Madhappy, a 2 years old optimistic lifestyle brand is designing street wear keeping in mind the cheerful colors. Apart from clothing the brand is spreading the awareness by organizing events featuring mental health pros as speakers and launching blogs making facts a weapon for the war.­ Palestinian-Lebanese designer Nawal-El-Masri who is currently based in Dubai used her personal life experiences as a victim of anxiety and fabricated through her fashion brand-Exhale. With a range of T-shirts brands and hoodies (made from sustainable organic cotton and bamboo), she has conveyed the messages, such as “Remember to breathe”; “Dreamers, Creators, Doers”.

Apart from their tees that symbolize phrases like “Naps, Cats, and Mental Health” and “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay” the —– based brand Own Your Stigma, donates 15 percent of its profit to an organization called Living Outside of Suffering and Trauma (LOST).International label Kenneth Cole launched its t-shirts printed with the slogan” I have issues” in 2008. The label has also partnered with mental health awareness week and donates 20 percent of each sale to the charity working in same cause.

Measuring the inclination of the design industry in the cause, it is evident that the world is slowly but surely waking upto a change in perception and moving forward to create a society more in control of mental health crisis through creative explorations, sheer good will and holistic awareness.