Abu Dhabi, 2011: I stumbled upon Vilma Varghese’s fashion line when I saw photos of a wedding gown that she had designed and stitched. A passion for colour, intricate detail and joie de vivre is apparent in her work. Formerly based in Mumbai, India, Vilma has since moved to Abu Dhabi and I got to see more of the lovely work that this young lady who has formally studied fashion designing.

This is a close up of a design Vilma conceptualized. This is an Indian top. Note the lavish use of fabulous colours. Photo © Jan D’Sa

 

Let the photos not deceive you. Vilma conceptualizes the embroidery designs before handing them to her staff to weave them in delightful colour combinations. These are then ready to be stitched according to your size.

Vilma comes from a very gifted family. Her brother owns his own restaurant and makes some of the delightful cakes. I’m hoping on my trip to Mumbai (hopefully sometime soon), I will get to experience the delight of beautifully baked cakes and write about it at theCAT.

Vilma conceptualizes the design which is then embroidered in by her staff. Photo © Jan D’Sa

Vilma’s extended family (namely Sakshi) are also into textile designing, working on traditional designs and give a contemporary twist to the sarees. They have two master weavers who work on the handlooms that were bought in Benaras. The success of the business comes from using the history of the Indian culture through the textile designing and weaving. A quick chat with both the ladies have revealed to me that they know their crafts well, which makes it easier to help clients who may need some guidance.

Sakshi and her mum use Indian heritage to come up with some stunning Benaras silk sarees. Photo © Jan D’Sa

 

A close up of one of the handloomed designs by Sakshi and her mother. Photo © Jan D’Sa

So if you would like to connect with Vilma and Sakshi, visit the website www.sakshirastogi.com