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Designer Vaishali S and fashion icon Masoom Minawala together create history at Milan Fashion Week in Italy. Vaishali S is the first female Indian designer to showcase a collection at Paris haute couture week; and Masoom, is the first-ever Indian creator to walk the runway as a showstopper at Milan Fashion Week.

On the heels of her tremendously successful show at Paris Haute Couture Week (PHCW) in 2021, Vaishali S. showcased her A/W'22 collection, 'Srauta', at Milan Fashion Week. This showcase marked the very first time an Indian woman designer presented at the prestigious event. With this showcase, the designer presented India's rich heritage coupled with her conceptual design language to an international stage.

The show also marks the global launch of Vaishali S.' pret-a-porter line positioning Indian hand weaves at the top of international luxury, through unique global silhouettes. Speaking about showcasing Vaishali S. said, "showing in Milan takes a designer's journey to another level of maturity and self-awareness. Not only do you need to be extremely creative, but it is also essential to strike a perfect balance between paying attention to the final customer's needs and being able to express your creativity through a language that is well understood by international buyers."

In addition to the models who walked the runway for the event, global fashion icon who is also known as the 'Face of Indian Fashion', Masoom Minawala, turned showstopper for Vaishali S. An ardent admirer of Indian craftsmanship and handlooms, Masoom is the first Indian personality ever, to walk the runway at Milan Fashion Week to support Vaishali and her ethereal pret-a-porter collection. Visiting Milan Fashion Week for the fourth year in a row, Masoom keeps her non-profit campaign #SupportIndianDesigners in mind, and has showcased Indian designers such as Kavya Potluri, Chisel by MR, and many more while styling them with petit luxury brands to give a surreal fashion week edge.

Masoom Minawala, Global Fashion Icon says, "Vaishali is one of my favourite designers and to be a showstopper for her at a global stage like Milan Fashion Week, was an absolute dream come true. I have been attending fashion week in Milan since 2019 and every year, it's a truly sublime experience seeing all the emerging designers and trends showcasing their talent. Supporting such talented Indian designers on a global platform and helping them expand their audience is one of the key reasons why I started content creation in the first place. As for being told that I'm the first Indian to ever walk for MFW, well it's a crazy yet humbling experience and I look forward to a lot more of them!"

The show took place at Milan's iconic and historic Palazzo Durini, which was commissioned in 1645 and is one of the greatest examples of seventeenth-century architecture in the city. The breathtaking location is filled with history and features several well-preserved frescos from past centuries. The palace is now the showroom of acclaimed Italian furniture brand, Edra, whose stunning pieces adorn the noteworthy interiors of the palace and acted as the perfect backdrop to Vaishali's showcase.

Simone Vago - nephew of vanguard artist Valentino Vago - and Paola Amerio hosted the show attendees and guided them through this incubator of emotions, thanks to multigenerational experience in crafting the best mansions across the globe with a high-end network of luxury workshops specialised in liveable art. The sprawling space at the palace where the show took place featured four huge rooms and glamorously accommodated the 250+ guests - which included some of Milan's top journalists and VIPs - that attended the show, bearing Covid protocols and social distancing in mind.

Mr. Alessandro Giuliano, Director and Advisor to Vaishali S., added "it was a special evening for the brand and me. When I met Vaishali two years ago I immediately realised her immense talent and sincerity. Showcasing in Milan, my native city and the world's fashion Capital was truly very special. 250+ people from media and lots of long-time friends, including the who's-who of Milan, were treated to this special fashion show with glasses of Prosecco, in a stunning location of our friends, EDRA and Simone Vago, with models from Milan society and make-up from Astra."

The collection named Srauta, of around 40 garments featured not only embroideries but full-fledged haute couture design and fabrics in a fresh pret avatar, that shone the spotlight on hand-woven Indian textiles. As with all Vaishali's collections, the Srauta collection too emphasises excellence in workmanship, with sustainability, zero waste and has circularity at its core. To ensure continued support and positive social impact on craft clusters, Vaishali has employed weaves used in the past in this collection as well.