The name Ashdeen Lilaowala is renowned as a textile designer who creates beautiful paintings with a thread and needle. A Master at presenting the Parsi Gara embroidery in all its colourful and creative glory, Ashdeen’s collection “Memories on Cloth” at Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2020 was not only an exquisite vision of embroidered beauty but excellent craftsmanship amalgamated with contemporary style. With 150 craftsmen Ashdeen’s studio in New Delhi is the hub for the gorgeous embroidery that he is known for.
The silhouettes were kept simple and elegant allowing the motifs to do all the talking. The hand embroidery featured the beauty of flora and fauna, which has been the distinct characteristic of the Parsi Gara craft. The popular motifs of bows, roosters, birds and butterflies came alive on the fabrics as they flitted over the garments.
ASHDEEN show during the Lakme Fashion Week Summer Resort 2020 at Jio Gardens in Mumbai, India on February 13th, 2020.
Ashdeen added another traditional embellishment, which is the lace that was popular, as an edging for the sacred undergarment the ‘sudreh’ worn by the Parsis. The beauty of this lace was seen on the ensembles, which brought to the forefront, the message of celebrating sustainable development goals by combining craft with culture.
An alluring, one-shoulder blouse covered in self-hued sequins was contrastingly teamed with a voluminous lehenga, that featured hand-embroidered motifs like the bird of paradise, roosters and butterflies. The look was completed with a black dupatta placed neatly around the neck and tied at the back.
Capturing the nostalgic essence of the collection, was a striking red, body-hugging dress worn with a sheer kimono. Cinched at the waist with a self-toned waist-belt holding a mini purse, the kimono reflected the line’s essential motifs, that were hand embroidered. The beautiful saris, the luxuriously embellished skirts, blouses, shawls and the artistically designed elegant dresses will all be earmarked as heirlooms by the buyers when they move down generations of art and fashion lovers.
Ashdeen Lilaowala’s “Memories on Cloth” was a timeless collection that will be cherished by connoisseurs of beauty and craft through times immemorial.
