Ashdeen Lilaowala: Parsi Gara Embroidery Revivalist and Explorer
Ashdeen Lilaowala is a textile designer, researcher, Parsi Gara revivalist and keeper of stories, based in New Delhi, India. He is founder and creative director of his eponymous label Ashdeen, that offers hand-embroidered Parsi Gara garments and textiles. His flagship stores are in New Delhi and Mumbai. He also shows his work at exhibitions in India and overseas. In today's online story, Brinda Gill interviews Ashdeen Lilaowala:
Brinda Gill: Ashdeen, please could you introduce us to Parsi Gara embroidery?
Ashdeen Lilaowala: The Parsis, followers of the seventh century BC Prophet Zarathushtra, left Iran in the tenth century due to religious persecution and sailed to India. They first arrived in Gujarat and eventually settled along the west coast of India. From the late 18th to the mid-20th centuries, members of the community managed a very profitable sea trade between India and China. They carried opium and cotton with them from India, which was traded for tea. When they returned on their ships, they brought back beautiful Chinese artefacts including ceramics, antiques, and the most coveted among these – embroidered textiles.
As Parsi women had adopted wearing the sari, Parsi traders started having silks of sari lengths and borders that could be attached to saris, embroidered for women in their families, when their ships docked in China. Chinese embroiderers deftly embroidered sari and border lengths, and these would be ready by the time the ship was to return to India. As Parsi women also started travelling to China, they began modifying the designs to incorporate borders and blank spaces for tucking in the sari.
Though there are many theories, the true origin and etymology of the term Gara is not known. In retrospect the Parsi Gara is an aesthetic developed over time. Even though the term later came to be associated exclusively with the sari, the same aesthetic was traditionally also used to decorate clothing items such as ijars (trousers) and jhablas (kids’ tunics); sapats (flat footwear); purses and potlis (drawstring pouches); and home furnishings.
Detail of Parsi Gara Embroidery. Photo courtesy of Ashdeen Lilaowala.
BG: Which motifs are seen on Parsi Gara embroidery?
AL: Over centuries, motifs, forms, and ideas have travelled across diverse geographies—Persia, Europe, China and the Far East, and India, culminating in this beautiful craft that has mesmerised generations. The recurring visual vocabulary of Parsi Gara embroidery shows a deep reverence for nature, which is also one of the main tenets of Zoroastrianism. Flowers, birds and animals are celebrated as emblems of power and protection. Repeatedly occurring floral motifs include peonies, roses, chrysanthemums and lotuses, rendered in vines and trellises, and abundant gardens.
A mix of real and fantastical creatures adorn the Parsi Gara including butterflies, birds of paradise, cranes, phoenixes, peacocks, fish, bats, dragons and the divine fungus. As the Gara began acquiring Indian influences, the Parsis started giving the motifs quaint Gujarati names like kanda-papeta (onions and potatoes) for polka dots, karolia for spider motifs, marga-marghi for rooster and hen motifs, and cheena-cheeni which refers to a Chinese man and woman.
Parsi Gara embroidery in progress. Photo courtesy of Ashdeen Lilaowala.
BG: Which stitches are used for Parsi Gara embroidery?
AL: Signature embroidery stitches include the satin stitch and its variations. Another school also embroidered the chain stitch using the aari or crewel needle. The forbidden stitch or the Peking knot is another meticulous stitch used in Parsi Gara embroidery. While it’s closely related to the storied French knot technique, it’s different in that a small extension or tail is created when rendering the form.
Artisans are required to understand the nuances of the Parsi Gara craft deeply. For instance, when birds are embroidered, the rendering needs to be realistic including details like the movement of the feathers, the shape of the beak, the patina of the eye. Artisans, therefore, are trained to observe nature to be able to bring to life the essence of the motif they are embroidering, mixing colours and using shading, not unlike an impressionist painter.
Nishat Parsi Gara Saree from the Ashdeen 2024 Wildflower collection. Photo courtesy of Ashdeen Lilaowala.
BG: How did you decide to work with Parsi Gara embroidery?
AL: The Parsi Gara has enamoured me since my childhood. My earliest memory of it was my mother’s black Gara — a family heirloom embroidered by my father’s grandmother.
After graduating from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, I travelled across India, China and Iran with the UNESCO Parzor Foundation documenting the Gara. I interacted with people’s personal collections in these geographies. The exercise has helped me understand the core essence of the Gara, and as much as I innovate with the craft, I try not to waver from this essence.
I enjoy the challenge of pushing the Parsi Gara tradition in new directions while making sure we stick to the basic framework. This has taken years of research into how the Gara has evolved over the years with the myriad geographical and cultural influences it has imbibed. I find it thrilling to be part of the next frontier of the Gara incorporating new nuances every season, telling new stories and sparking new conversations. In 2024 we clocked ten years of the Ashdeen label.
Parsi Gara embroidery in progress. Photo courtesy of Ashdeen Lilaowala.
BG: How is the embroidery worked?
AL: We have a team of about 300 craftspeople - rendering the intricacies of the Parsi Gara embroidery flawlessly by hand - across Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. At our ateliers the fabric is stretched on to an adda or a wooden frame and four, six or eight embroidery craftspeople work together on a single sari or piece at a time depending on the complexity of design and spacing.
India is blessed with world class embroidery masters who adapted their skills to this embroidery tradition beautifully. Working with the master artisans is an exchange of ideas and inputs rather than an instruction on how to render a certain motif or create a certain texture. It is our brand’s mission to create sustainable livelihoods for the artisans we work with.
Inside the Ashdeen store, Mumbai, India. Photo courtesy of Ashdeen Lilaowala.
BG: Can you tell us about your product range?
AL: We’ve got hand-embroidered Parsi Gara saris crafted in a variety of silks including silk crepes, raw silks and jacquards. We also introduced rendering of complete motifs using embellishments like pearls, beading and silver thread. We also incorporate new fabrics and other forms of textile crafts like Kanjeevaram weaves and hand-tied bandhani saris with Parsi Gara embroidery.
In addition, we have a wide range of wedding and celebration lehengas all hand-embroidered and embellished in the Parsi Gara tradition. We also offer a full range of garments including jackets, blouses, jhablas or tunics, skirts, trousers and accessories like scarves and purses. We recently worked on a range of menswear separates featuring Parsi Gara hand embroidery and upon request produced hand-embroidered panels for use in home and interiors.
There’s a growing awareness and love for the Parsi Gara among textile and sari enthusiasts from across generations, Parsis and non-Parsis, from clients in India and overseas. As a contemporary revivalist brand we are committed to creating exquisite Parsi Gara embroidery; pushing this tradition in new directions while respecting its core essence, and sharing its unique heritage and beauty with the world.
Interview and text by Brinda Gill.
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Further Information:
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Image Credits:
Lead: Detail of Parsi Gara Embroidery. Photo courtesy of Ashdeen Lilaowala.
All photographs courtesy of Ashdeen Lilaowala