Vaishali S is glamorously merging all things handcrafted with everything luxe in her latest collection

Since couturier Vaishali Shadangule’s label Vaishali S was launched some two decades back, her design journey has been very linear and seamless across all her collections. While the silhouettes have been evolving, and eventually quite radically since her use of cording technique, her designs have always been a reflection of her own personal development and explorations.

The journey nonetheless, by her own admission, hasn’t been an easy one. “It is very difficult. Globally speaking, luxury brands have reached a level of quality and attention to details that is not easy to match. It is a journey that has started for us after our selection at the Paris Haute Couture,” she says.

When one talks about India, luxury is still identified with bridal, which is all about embroidery. Clearly for a brand like hers, dedicated to sophisticated hand-woven fabrics, to innovative design in the silhouettes, and to unseen textures to frame all the above, it is not easy to be accepted as mainstream even from the most celebrated fraternity.

“My success abroad, where these skills are more sought after and understood, drove the growth and appreciation in India too,” Vaishali avers.

Vaishali is on a unique crossroad of two otherwise very distinct worlds -- hand woven fabrics and luxury fashion. While hand made products are normally classified as craft, not with a very luxury connotation, in her case everything is handmade and hand woven following the local Indian traditions, albeit following the highest luxury standards and quality of details. “I don’t follow trends and don’t follow market requests. I am on my path of creation. I like colours and am on a parallel path of exploration colours besides experimenting with different blends of threads and silhouettes,” she tells us.

She recently launched a bridal collection with a show at the luxurious Rambagh Palace that displayed beautiful colours of Rajasthan and had an abundance of Kota Doria work.

Vaishali’s latest collection is named Satori. The collection captures the essence of this Satori moment - spontaneous, transformative, and illuminating. It is a blend of traditional Indian aesthetics with modern minimalism to reflect the principles of simplicity, balance, and harmony.

The colour scheme is muted and serene, featuring shades of deep white, soft beige, and light grey. Accents of deep indigo, rich burgundy, and gold are used to signify enlightenment and spiritual richness.

Luxurious, natural silks, and fine cottons have been chosen for their purity and quality. The textures are smooth and flowing, evoking a sense of effortless grace and fluidity, while some structured pieces embody moments of sudden realisation.

The silhouettes are clean and streamlined, with an emphasis on flowing lines and drapery that suggest movement and freedom. Draping is always prominent, paying homage to traditional Indian garments and values while keeping a contemporary edge. Intricate handwork and subtle embellishments are used sparingly to symbolise the fleeting yet profound nature of light. Patterns include personal representations of the flow of nature’s energy, reflecting her beauty and the impermanence of life. Most garments feature very special embellishments - Ta’wiz (amulets): signs of hope made with leftovers from different collections and hand weaves from across states of India, a hymn to unity in diversity.

“The title ‘Satori’ comes from the philosophy to introspect for replies, which involves a profound realisation of reality’s true nature, marking a crucial step in mindfulness and conscious living, leading to a state of clarity and peace. On that spiritual path, Vaishali S goes one step beyond, to realize that all she was looking for, is already inside her, going beyond illusions. This collection represents this turning point. It draws deeply from the concept of sudden enlightenment and profound insight, translating these themes into designs that evoke clarity, simplicity, and elegance,” syas Vaishali while explaining the idea behind the collection.

The collection is quite different from her previous ones because it simplifies the regular two and three dimensional spatial reach of the silhouettes, thus making them easier to understand (and wear), but expands in terms of layers, where the research is particularly directed. In the near future, Vaishali wants to bring the handwoven and workmanship skills of India back on the luxury global stage.