As Jade hits the 10-year mark, designers Monica Shah and Karishma Swali tell Vogue why real luxury equals an investment in skill and time.
When sisters-in-law and co-founders of couture label Jade, Monica Shah and Karishma Swali, decided to celebrate a decade in fashion, they realised the exercise would involve a return to their roots, as much as charting a course for the future. Their first celebratory champagne high tea drew Mumbai’s insiders to an unlikely address in the bylanes of Byculla for an introduction to their origins. For it was at Chanakya International Private Limited, a global export house specialising in exquisite embroidery and embellishments, that the idea of Jade first germinated. In its workrooms where artisans painstakingly embroidered masterpieces for the world’s biggest couture labels, Karishma learnt the intricacies of the luxury business from her father and Monica was initiated into the legacy of design and craftsmanship. Today, seated in their expansive Peddar Road flagship, the two recall how their fundamentals of fashion still hail from heritage.
THE PAST
This story is from the November 2018 edition of VOGUE India.
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This story is from the November 2018 edition of VOGUE India.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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