The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2023 - Issue 33

Ancestral Threads bitefashion She first showed her collection at the Wills Life- style India Fashion Week in 2011, incorporating Chanderi fabric (typically preserved for saris) into her dresses. The designer then showcased at New York Fashion Week and Paris Haute Couture Week. “Pressure steaming up in the last three weeks, working incessantly to finish the collection for the great event in Paris,” she wrote on Instagram. “Each pre-collection is a moment of excitement and anxiety about what will finally take shape.” The Shwas collection meaning ‘breath’, was in- spired by motifs of leaves, tree branches and barks, made from West Bengal weaves, Merino wool woven in Maheshwar, near Khargone and Khun fabric from Karnataka, southwest India. “As an Indian woman showcasing at the pinnacle of global couture, this is a significant milestone,” she said. “India has a strong design language in terms of craftsmanship combined with social impact, the richness of technique beyond embroidery or plain manufacturing.” During the unprecedented epidemic in 2020, Vaishali chose the subject matter. “It was during the pandemic the idea of ‘breath’ heightened in my mind,” she explained. “In school, we study we need oxygen to breathe, but that concept was height- ened during the second wave. The main inspira-