Even though I am someone who was born in Australia, I have always identified myself as an Indian first and then an Australian. I mean, even though on paper and all the legal documents, I am an Australian citizen, my family is from India and no matter what anyone says I have an Indian ethos. I love everything Indian – whether its food, movies, music or even clothes and although I do wear Western outfits most of the time, I just look for opportunities where I can flaunt my Indian occasion dresses.
I have friends who are absolutely in love with the clothes I wear and are often asking me where I find such stunning clothes. Whether it’s a saree that I drape around my reasonably in-shape body or the floor length anarkalis that I wear to rock college events, there is definitely something for my friends to gape at, every time I decide to dress up. There is truly something incredible about the Indian fashion scene today – there is so much going on in terms of fabrics being used and the designs being brought to life with them. Innumerable talented designers in India are using modern fabrics and methods to meld ancient techniques of embroidery and other needle crafts to bring to life outfits that are no ordinary events dresses.
For the longest time, my mother or her sister would pick out clothes for me and my cousins on their trips to India, but that all stopped the day I found out about this incredible website called IndiaEmporium. This place was an oasis for me, because not only could I find the most extensive range of all the latest fashions in India, I could get it all shipped to my doorstep, right here in Melbourne! Every time, I am on IndiaEmporium, I feel like I am in the most exclusive boutique, because not only do they have the best festival outfits, but also the most adorable clothes for regular wear. And what is truly wonderful about IndiaEmporium is the fact that just in case you are not able to find something that you love, you could even get it designed.
The true calibre of the design team at IndiaEmporium came to the forefront the day I set them a task – I needed an outfit that went above and beyond traditional festival clothing, because this was an outfit that I wanted to gift my cousin for her very first Diwali after getting married. She was planning to wear one of those sarees that had been a part of her wedding trousseau that she had never worn. While the saree was a stunning Kancheepuram one, I wanted her to have something that would make her stand apart in the crowd of Indians residing in Melbourne. I wanted her to look like the new bride and the stunner that she is and I wanted everyone to sit up and pay attention to how gorgeous she is and for that she needed a little more than the typical special occasion dresses for weddings.
So, I had a chat with the designers at IndiaEmporium and told them about the importance of the occasion and they immediately started sharing the latest trends in India. I fell in love with a lehenga saree design that they showed me and I knew that this was what I wanted to have created for my darling cousin. I started exploring options in terms of fabrics and colour combinations. With a lot of inputs from the designers, I finalised a combination of satin and net for the fabrics and we decided to go with multiple shades of blue. I decided that I wanted very delicate embroidery and the design team suggested that because we were going with a blue colour palette, silver and pearls would go very well.
Within a day, they had sent me a sketch of what the outfit would look like – it looked so stunning that I decided to get something similar designed for myself too, albeit a little later – after all, I would not want to steal the spotlight from my sister. I okayed the design and during the next few days, I was constantly getting updates from the design team at IndiaEmporium, showing me how the outfit was progressing. I was getting pictures of how the silhouette of the outfit was coming and even swatches of the embroidery and pearl work. And before I could believe it, I received an email telling me that the outfit was ready and would be shipped to me soon.
My mom has been looking for special occasion dresses in Australia for the longest time, but when she saw the outfit that I had gifted my sister, I have to tell you, she was supremely impressed with me. And as for my sister, she dazzled in that couture outfit, just as I had predicted!
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