She Walks in Beauty: Ashdeen’s Parsi gara collection weaves living heritage into contemporary elegance

Some clothes stay with you long after the event is over. A sari folded back into its muslin after a wedding, the scent of an old wooden cupboard, a photograph from a Navjote where everyone seems impossibly elegant — this is the emotional world the Parsi gara belongs to.

Hand-embroidered gara saris blend heirloom symbolism, nature-inspired motifs and Bombay’s Parsi social world into timeless pieces for contemporary women

With his latest collection, She Walks in Beauty, Ashdeen by Ashdeen Lilaowala brings together the technical beauty of Parsi gara embroidery with the larger cultural world it comes from. The collection is rich in craftsmanship, but what makes it truly compelling is how every technical decision, from motif placement to fabric choice, speaks to heritage and modern life.

The Parsi gara itself is layered with history. Its roots carry Chinese influences, Persian symbolism, Zoroastrian beliefs, and Bombay’s own cosmopolitan social fabric. Ashdeen approaches this legacy through research-led design. “Our design development always starts with research and inspiration,” he says. “We draw heavily from my own experience of travelling along the Gara route, perusing living inherited wardrobes that have historically defined the Parsi gara tradition. I crystallise this knowledge into my archive which itself is a living, breathing, growing, evolving entity.”

This idea of a living archive is central to his work. For him, heritage is something that grows, shifts, and finds new meaning in the present. Inspiration may begin in heirloom saris, but it often expands into architecture, ceramics, art, textiles, and even cinema. That openness keeps the work timeless while allowing it to feel fresh. This is especially important because gara saris have long been heirlooms — pieces treasured across generations. Ashdeen’s work keeps that sense of permanence alive while speaking to contemporary women.

“Our design is rooted in the timeless core of the Parsi gara,” he says. “Every piece is a hundred percent hand-embroidered by artisans. The interpretation of the embroidery designs, the materials, and the silhouettes are tailored to a contemporary audience. The delicate balance between the two is stitched right into the essence of brand Ashdeen.”

The motifs remain rooted in tradition, but the drape, scale, and ease feel modern. These are saris designed to move naturally through today’s events and social spaces while still carrying the emotional weight of heirloom dressing.

Nature is one of the strongest visual threads in the collection. Traditional gara motifs like cranes, chrysanthemums, lotuses, peonies, and other flora and fauna appear throughout the saris. But they are never just decorative. “The saris feature traditional Parsi gara motifs that demonstrate a deep reverence for nature, which is also one of the main tenets of Zoroastrianism,” Ashdeen explains. “Flowers, birds and animals are celebrated as emblems of power and protection.”

Each motif carries meaning. The chrysanthemum, or Kiku, symbolises long life. Cranes represent loyalty and lasting companionship because they mate for life. The Karolia, or spider motif, remains one of the most iconic symbols in gara embroidery. “According to legend, the spider is considered auspicious as it is believed to have always protected the Zoroastrians,” he says. These ideas of protection, continuity, and longevity are deeply tied to community life, which is why the gara remains so closely linked to important life moments.

For Ashdeen, this relationship is deeply personal. His earliest memories of Gara are tied to the women in his family. “Still a child when I encountered resplendent Parsi garas covered in intricate hand embroidery, I watched and learned as the women in my family treasured them, taking them out from the armoire only for special occasions,” he recalls. Weddings, Navjotes, and family gatherings became moments of visual learning. Seeing Parsi women dressed in these intricately embroidered saris shaped his emotional understanding of the garment.

Growing up in a Parsi baug in Mumbai made this connection even stronger. The city is deeply present in this collection — not just as a place, but as a social world. Bombay’s halls, old institutions, and family venues have long shaped how the Parsi community gathers, dresses, and remembers.

That is why the collection feels so rooted in place. Inspired by a 1951 salon presentation at London’s Savoy Hotel, the collection uses the intimacy of salon-style showing to bring viewers closer to the garment. “It felt very resonant because at its heart our collection of classic saris was dedicated to beauty in its purest form,” Ashdeen says.

The choice of Albless Baug in Girgaon as the presentation venue made the cultural meaning even stronger. The historic Parsi hall has been part of generations of weddings and Navjotes. “My parents and one of my sisters got married at the Albless Baug. It was also the venue for my Navjote,” he says. “Growing up in Mumbai, I had known the Albless Baug as an iconic figure of continuity and tradition that had always existed in the Parsi consciousness.”

What makes the collection especially interesting is how the technique never feels separate from the emotion behind it. Up close, the French knots are incredibly fine, almost like tiny brushstrokes building flowers, birds, and creeping botanical forms. In some saris, repeated embroidery creates a lace-like effect that immediately brings to mind old heirloom garas.

The fabrics do a lot of work too. The crepes, crepe jacquards, and satins have an ease to them — they move well, catch light softly, and feel suited to the way people actually dress for occasions now. You can imagine them at an evening wedding, a ballroom reception, even an intimate family celebration. The colour palette follows the same logic. Ruby red, emerald, royal blue, violet, wine, and alphonso feel rich without being nostalgic for the sake of it. These shades feel both familiar and current, reflecting community taste while also appealing to modern wardrobes.

In this way, every technical decision becomes part of the cultural story. “The details were so fine they had to be viewed and taken in at close quarters,” Ashdeen says. “We decided to build our storytelling around that process.”

At the heart of it is craft. Sustaining the embroidery today remains a challenge because it demands time, skill, and patient handwork.“The challenge lies in getting younger generations of craftspeople interested and engaged to work in the craft and to make it financially viable,” he says. “We work to encourage entrepreneurship among artisan communities and clusters so they’re able to create pride, independence and prosperity for themselves.”

There is no shortcut to this level of embroidery. Its luxury lies in the time it takes. The answer, for Ashdeen, is not speed but education, helping people understand why true handcraft carries lasting value.

This is where the collection feels especially powerful. In a time of fast fashion and even faster consumption, these saris insist on attention. They make you notice the labour of the hand, the meaning behind a motif,and how clothing can still hold memory, value, and a sense of belonging.

For the Parsi community especially, dress remains a powerful way to hold onto identity. “As a small community it is a very important tactile medium to tell stories of memory, heritage and identity,” Ashdeen says. “I call myself a keeper of stories.”

Maybe that is the best way to read She Walks in Beauty: a continuation oftradition. The collection carries forward everything that makes the gara emotionally significant — family memory, ceremony, protection, beauty. They belong to the same world as old family albums, wedding halls, and the women who taught entire generations what elegance looked like.

Prices start at Rs 1.5 lakh.

Available at Anahita, Banjara Hills.

Mail ID: anshula.u@newindianexpress.com

Twitter: @indulgexpress

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