The Indian Textile Show that opened Day Four at Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2013 began with Ashdeen Lilaowala, a graduate of the National Institute of Design Ahmedabad, who started his label “Ashdeen” specialising in ancient Oriental and Persian hand embroidery and is the author of the book “Threads of Continuity” on the complex Zoroastrian art of Kusti weaving.
Giving a totally contemporary look to the timeless Parsi Gara embroidery, Ashdeen Lilaowala revealed his expertise through the finely crafted ten garments.
While the colour story had strong black, white and red with dashes of silver embroidery; Ashdeen worked on rich fabrics like Dupion, organza, georgette, jacquard, satin and lace.
Staying true to the Gara motifs of chrysanthemums, flying cranes, butterflies and Chinese scenes (China-Chini), Ashdeen gave a new twist to them.
The two striking cocktail dresses – one in white with bird embroidery and the other in black with white butterflies rising to the shoulders were minimal in design but high on embroidery.
The elegant pant with embroidered sides and stylish blouse with pearl drops, the two sensuous gowns in red and black, the three beautiful saris with borders of flying cranes and flowers showed a refined use of the embellishments.
The will-power tunic blouse and the long sleeve version with appliqués were stunners when shown with saris.
For lovers of the Parsi Gara work, Ashdeen Lilaowala presented modern angles to this wonderful ancient craft.