Summer is here and if you’re looking for the perfect prints that blend timeless tradition with global appeal, Floralista brings the perfect prints that take centre stage, with a monsoon bloom. Renowned for reviving the Parsi Gara embroidery tradition, designer Ashdeen Lilaowala is best known for intricately hand-embroidered saris that speak of heirloom elegance.
Parsi Gara embroidery, with its heritage-rich roots and meticulous craftsmanship, has long stood as a symbol of cultural legacy—where each thread spins a story of tradition, artistry, and time-honoured technique.The brand now reimagines its signature aesthetic for the Spring-Summer 2025. This season, embroidery takes a graceful step back, allowing vibrant prints to lead the narrative, offering a lighter, more contemporary take on timeless elegance.
A graduate of the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, Lilaowala began his journey in textiles as a researcher with the Ministry of Textiles and UNESCO’s Parzor Foundation. His deep dive into the cultural richness of Parsi embroidery led to the publication of Threads of Continuity – The Zoroastrian Craft of Kusti Weaving (Parzor, 2013), a book that explores the symbolic essence of this time-honoured craft.
This collection pairs the floral saris with lightweight kimonos and styling accents inspired by Japanese minimalism, creating a global dialogue in design. Yet, even with its cross-cultural appeal, the soul of the sari remains Indian.
Floralista is now available at Ashdeen ateliers in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad and for shoppers across the globe, the collection is also available online.
Excerpts from the conversation with the designer:
The latest collection, Floralista, is one where print takes the spotlight and embroidery becomes a quiet frame. What was the inspiration behind this collection? What sparked your interest in fashion?
We wanted to take our print series forward with some of our favourite flowers, poppies, orchids, daisies and forget-me-nots as they appeared in bouquets, trellises and gardens. That was the starting point for Floralista.
The Parsi Gara has enamoured me since my childhood. My earliest memory of it was my mother’s black Gara—a family heirloom embroidered by my father’s grandmother. I also encountered the stylish Parsi community on a daily basis at Godrej Baug, Mumbai, where I grew up, and some of my teachers too inspired my early interest in fashion. I then went on to study textile design at the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, which gave me exposure to the global fashion and design world.
The collection is for the global women who see saris as both statement and staple. How would you describe your design aesthetic or signature style?
The signature Ashdeen aesthetic is unapologetically feminine. It’s rooted in tradition yet contemporary in feel. Every piece that we create has been designed as a modern heirloom—as a result they’re never trendy but hold value over time. Real handcrafted luxury is at the heart of our brand.
How do you blend traditional styles with modern trends in your collections?
Our endeavour at Ashdeen has been to keep the core essence of the Parsi Gara embroidery tradition alive while innovating in applications, through which we have been able to engage with younger generations of Parsis and non-Parsi wearers. Specifically, this translates as stylised application of motifs, a colour palette fine-tuned to suit modern tastes and the use of lighter, more wearable fabric adapted to suit contemporary tastes. In addition, we have also opened out the embroidery applications placing them on lehengas, blouses, jackets, scarves and accessories to enhance the wearability factor.
The saris move with ease across cultures, yet the pieces never lose their grounding in the subcontinent. What role does regional culture play in your creations?
The Parsi Gara is an amalgamation of Persian, European, Chinese and Indian textile traditions and aesthetics adapted to the subcontinent’s signature womens’ garment — the sari. As the Parsi Gara evolved, it started to incorporate motifs sacred to India’s small Zoroastrian community. But the Gara is in continuous evolution and that is its true essence. At Ashdeen, we’re pushing the possibilities of what a Gara can be by combining it with regional techniques and traditions such as Bandhani from Gujarat, Kanjiavaram from Tamil Nadu, Leheriya from Rajasthan and Banarasi from Uttar Pradesh.
How do you stay on top of trends while keeping your work original? What role does sustainability or ethical fashion play in your work?
Ours is a fairly trend-agnostic brand. Our work is original because our inspiration comes from the team’s unique point of view and how that inspiration translates into a collection is informed by robust research into the evolution of the Parsi Gara aesthetic. And our own milestones serve as the starting point for all future development.
Ours is a handcrafted slow fashion brand that creates heirloom pieces for generations. Sustainability and artisanal ethics are at its core.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in fashion design?
It’s very easy to get carried away in fashion with the more glamorous aspects. Make sure you get enough grounding in essential skills. And what’s most important is reading and building knowledge across subjects. There’s no point in designing in a bubble. Historical context is of utmost importance.