: From Being Penniless at 17 to Becoming the 1st Indian Woman at Paris Couture Week #IndiaNEWS #Fashion Even a week after showcasing her weaves at the Haute Couture week in Paris, Vaishali Shadangule

From Being Penniless at 17 to Becoming the 1st Indian Woman at Paris Couture Week #IndiaNEWS #Fashion
Even a week after showcasing her weaves at the Haute Couture week in Paris, Vaishali Shadangule is buzzing with excitement at the success of the show. She’s exhausted but there’s a glow on her face that only comes after accomplishing something.
Vaishali is the first Indian woman designer to partake in the Paris Fashion Week, which was held from 5 July to 8 July 2021.
Haute Couture collections from the house of Vaishali S
While she is now hobnobbing with other big designers and models, her life two decades ago was very different. “I left home with just the clothes on my back when I was all of 17. I had nothing with me other than my dreams,??? says the 43-year-old. In the same breath, she adds that she would perhaps not take the same decision today. “As a mother to a teenager, I sometimes wonder how I would react if my daughter were to do something as adventurous as I did,??? she says.
Vaishali describes herself as a girl from a small town in the hinterland of India.
Vaishali, when she was all of 4.
“I grew up in Vidisha in Madhya Pradesh and what that small town gave me were valuable lessons that I use in my designing work even today. There is so much talk about circular economy and sustainability today, and these were all part and parcel of growing up. ??? Clothes that her elder sister wore would find their way to her and once they were worn out, they would be repurposed as curtains or even table cloths.
“No cloth was wasted – no matter how old or used it was,??? she says.
Indian weaves an integral part of Vaishalis collections.
While she may not have understood these lessons when she was younger, today she is thankful that she experienced them. “I lived in a bubble and had no idea about the bigger cities and towns. I also grew up in a household with no television and that further restricted my exposure to the outside world,??? she says.
Vaishali was always a curious child and it was this curiosity that kept her away from being married off at 18, like other girls in her community. “I would participate in every small and big event at school. I enjoyed art, music and dance in equal measure,??? she says.
“As a girl from a small town I knew nothing – I had no idea of how to conduct myself, hold a conversation or even live by myself.
Just after the show, in Paris.
Yet, at 17, I decided to go away from what I knew as home, and live by myself,??? Vaishali shares. She moved to Bhopal without ever thinking of fashion or designing. All she knew was that she needed to get out of Vidisha and explore the world.
From the Bhopal railway station, Vaishali went to a hostel, where after several rounds of pleading she was accommodated.