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ASHDEEN LILAOWALA

Textile Fashion Designer

Ashdeen Lilaowala hails from New
Delhi and is a Textile Designer,
Author and Curator.

After graduating in Textile Design from
National Institute of Design (NID),
Ahmedabad, in 2005-2006 with UNESCO
Parzor Foundation, Ashdeen conducted
a detail research project on Parsi
Embroidery for the Ministry of Textiles.

He traveled through Iran and China to
trace the routes and origins of the craft.
He has documented several private Parsi
embroidery collections in various cities of
India. Ashdeen conducted four training
workshops in Ahmedabad, Navsari,
Mumbai and Delhi. More than 120 craft’s
person were introduced and trained in
Parsi Gara embroidery. He organized a
symposium and exhibition, “Painting with
a Needle” at NCPA, Mumbai and curated
an exhibition titled “Parsi Panorama” at
IIC, New Delhi in 2011.

In October 2012, Ashdeen launched his
eponymous label ASHDEEN specializing
in hand embroidered saris. He showcased
his Spring/Resort collections at Lakme
Fashion Week (Mumbai) in 2013 & 2014.
His embroidered cocktail dresses, gowns
and saris have been appreciated for
their contemporary, unique take on the
traditional Parsi Gara embroidery. ELLE
magazine voted him as “The hottest
design talent of 2013” and awarded him
for his excellence in reviving embroidery.

Ashdeen is a part-time lecturer at the
NIFT (National Institute of Fashion
Technology), New Delhi and a freelance
fashion and travel writer. He has written
diverse travel and craft stories that have
been published in ELLE, Marie Claire and
Travel+Leisure magazines.

His book ‘Threads of Continuity – The
Zoroastrian Craft of Kusti Weaving’
was released at the World Zoroastrian
Congress (Mumbai) 2013 and India
International Centre IIC (New Delhi)
2014.

December, 2014 SynergyZ 57