This exhibition traces the Parsi gara’s passage across oceans, trade, and time

• The feature documents Ashdeen Lilaowala’s collaboration with artist Bhasha Chakrabarti for ‘The Flower, The Labour And The Sea’, an exhibition at the Rhode Island School of Design.
• It traces Ashdeen’s lifelong connection with Parsi Gara embroidery, inspired by a treasured family heirloom and strengthened through extensive research into the historic trade routes linking India, China and Iran.
• The article highlights Ashdeen’s role in reimagining Parsi Gara as a contemporary design language while preserving its craftsmanship, symbolism and cultural significance.
• At the heart of the exhibition is a monumental hand-embroidered raw silk sari depicting maritime trade routes, ships, mythical sea creatures, flowers, dragons and historic ports, blending documented history with artistic interpretation.
• The collaboration explores the relationship between the opium trade, labour, migration and textile heritage, presenting the Parsi Gara as both an heirloom tradition and a living work of art.
• A companion film showing the sari being draped reinforces the idea that textiles are created to be worn, experienced and passed through generations.
• The feature concludes with Ashdeen’s thoughts on the future of Parsi Gara, emphasising its enduring value as a niche craft sustained through storytelling, craftsmanship and deeply personal commissions.

Read More: https://www.harpersbazaar.in/fashion/story/this-exhibition-traces-the-parsi-garas-passage-across-oceans-trade-and-time-1334340-2026-01-22