The Pioneers

They championed emerging designers and gave them a platform when no one else would. Meet Tina Tahiliani Parikh, Sangita Devi Kathiwada, and Cecilia Morelli Parikh—the original custodians of modern Indian fashion.

TINA TAHILIANI PARIKH

Ensemble

In 1987, when Ensemble opened its doors in Mumbai’s Lion Gate, the store stocked names like Rohit Khosla, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, and Tarun Tahiliani himself, who founded it with his wife, Sal. In 1990, Tahiliani’s sister, Tina Tahiliani Parikh, took it over, and in time she expanded its scope, scouting talent from across the country to make Ensemble a singular space that expresses the collective identity of modern Indian fashion. “The raison d’être of our store will always be to provide support, advice, and a platform to young, artistic entrepreneurs,” she says.