Vaishali Shadangule on being the first Indian woman to showcase at the Paris Haute Couture Week: ‘Puts you in a different league’

Exactly three years ago, the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode invited Vaishali Shadangule to showcase her collection at the Paris Haute Couture Week (PHCW). Ever since, she has been a regular and feels like she belongs to a “different league” today. We caught up with the fashion designer––back after showcasing her Fall Winter ’24 Couture Collection Satori, this year––to learn more about her design process, her take on sustainability, what she feels about having showstoppers, and what the most challenging thing about being a designer is today. Read the edited excerpts below:

In 2021, you became the first Indian woman to showcase at the Paris Couture Week. How have things changed for you since then?

Vaishali Shadangule: Everything changed dramatically, from different points of view. First, the widespread recognition of becoming a couturier sets a standard, like the 3 Michelin stars. People know that only a certain level of quality gets that stamp and don’t question it. You become an Olympian. Then, I must admit, self-esteem; you know you are part of an elite world, you dare more, believe more in the solidity of your creative ideas, and question yourself much less. However, this also requires you to always uphold very high standards of creativity and quality (in garments, processes, and customer service). All these factors, combined with added effort, put you in a different league from those who have never been selected.

Tell us about your latest collection, Satori, and the inspiration behind the same.

Vaishali Shadangule: My career reflects my path of self-discovery. I draw my inspiration and guidance from nature, and the flow of her energy is my language. Each collection depicts a different stage of this journey. With this collection, I wish to express the realisation that every secret and discovery lies within us. It is only through moments of enlightenment that we suddenly recognise their presence. For this reason, this collection features themes very dear to me, combined with a new handwork technique that highlights the many layers of thought.

 

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We have learned that the embellishments used for this collection are leftovers! Tell us about that.

Vaishali Shadangule: In all my collections, leftovers are used to create embellishments. My work upholds the values of village life—never throwing anything away. In fact, it was in the quest to maximise the use of leftovers that I discovered my proprietary cording technique, years ago. By rolling these remnants by hand, I found they could provide structure to my garments, all made with soft handwoven fabrics.

What are your views on sustainability in fashion — in India and (vs) abroad?

Vaishali Shadangule: Sustainability in fashion is essential. By now, we all know how unsustainable fashion can be—in its processes, non-circularity, etc. Making fashion ecologically sustainable can truly help the world. At the same time, fashion can become critical in having a social impact. The visibility of fashion allows it to influence people’s mindsets, particularly the younger generation, who are already more sensitive to sustainable practices and often demand them.

Generally speaking, sustainability has not greatly evolved in India and is often reduced to a mere marketing gimmick, especially by some top couture brands. In contrast, countries like Italy treat sustainability as a very serious matter. We must remember that soon Europe will not allow our garments in if we do not abide by the latest rules.

Radhika Apte walking for Vaishali S at the Paris Haute Couture Week this year. (PR handout)

Despite the international catwalk not having the concept of a ‘showstopper’, many Indian designers seem to be obsessed with it. With Radhika Apte walking for you, why do you feel the need to have a celeb face on the ramp? Does it not take away focus from the creations?

Vaishali Shadangule: In many cases, this practice does steal away focus from creations, but it also attracts wider attention, resulting in a net positive effect. But yes, just making anybody walk on the ramp, as per basic marketing and branding rules, dilutes the brand equity. On the contrary, if the celebrity’s values align clearly with the brand, like Radhika with Vaishali S, it becomes a very strong brand extension and multiplication. The wider audience tends to know the celebrity very well, often much better than the brand.

Following your tryst with the global fashion scene, who would you say are your buyers today? Has the demography changed in the last three years?

Vaishali Shadangule: The more I have been showcasing during the Paris Haute Couture, where I also use more aggressive and more Western silhouettes, the more I have been widening my audience towards younger age brackets. Geographically, while I have kept my Indian and US audiences, large and fast-growing Middle East and Saudi women have started buying Vaishali S.

 

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You focus a lot on getting your textiles right. Tell us about it in the case of Satori. Also, does it often lead to delays and extra work?

Vaishali Shadangule: My fabrics are all studied by me and all woven on hand looms. Delays are thus long and never precise. That is why I have an ongoing production of fabrics to ensure constant availability of at least ones I use the most. In each collection, I always introduce either new hand-weaving techniques or new materials on old hand-weaving techniques. This requires a head start long before the Paris shows, normally around a year.

On average, how long does it usually take to create a Vaishali S piece — from conceptualisation to sketching to final production?

Vaishali Shadangule: As I said, the timeline for ongoing production fabrics is relatively quick. New projects can take years. And it does, because ideas need time to settle in my mind and feelings—this is the part that typically consumes the most time. Once the prototype fabric enters production, the timeline varies based on the level of intervention needed on the loom. Fabrics like woven pashmina, for instance, are extremely delicate and may require extensive adjustments to the loom weights, involving multiple trial and error iterations.

After experiencing the best (and also perhaps bits of the bad) of the Indian and global fashion scenes, how would you describe the two? Also, how does the former fare?

Vaishali Shadangule: India and the global fashion markets are very different. Fashion weeks in India are well-organised with highly talented stylists and show directors, often surpassing those abroad. However, design is more widely understood and appreciated internationally, whereas in India, there seems to be a waning interest among people and media.

The most challenging thing about being a designer today, and why?

Vaishali Shadangule: For a creative designer, the most challenging aspect is often striking a balance between pure creativity and commercially viable designs. I understand that for new independent designers, gaining recognition and exploring their artistic identity through their work is no simple task. It is a largely polarised world where small independent designers have to find a very specific positioning and be extremely focused and resilient.

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