Adore April 2021

Trishala Bhansali UPTOWN

Fashion Designer shoplekha.com

E ach summer while growing up, Trishala traded New Orleans for India, roaming the stalls with her brother for fabrics. After a decade-long career in luxury retail buying in New York, she felt the pull to return home and marry her two identities. On a trip to Delhi to visit family, Trishala was introduced to a foundation that sponsored female embroiderers in rural Punjab. There she got the idea for shoe designs, which were first stocked at Sunday Shop on Magazine Street and Esby Apparel in Austin. Lekha was born and the first womenswear collection launched shortly after. Last year, she collaborated with The Chloe on the new boutique hotel's robes and uniforms.

WHAT IS INSPIRING YOU RIGHT NOW? Florals — color, shape, movement. We spent the bulk of 2020 at a flower farm in Connecticut and have started doing more floral-based block prints as of late. I've tried to stay away from traditional Indian floral block prints, but find myself getting inspired by the azaleas blooming here in all shades of pink and looking at archival chintz blockprints. WHAT DO YOU DO TO NURTURE CREATIVITY? Typically travel! Over the past year, it has been difficult to stay creative, but I've found that conversations have kept me going. Communicating with friends about process, about design, and about fabrics and communicating with our Lekha community about how and what they've been wearing. The pandemic has been especially difficult for the creative process, given that we design in-season with 100% of the process happening while I am in India. Each of our garments is a collaboration between the artisans, a close friend of mine in India, and myself — testing block prints, dying swatches on new fabrications, creating embroideries. Needless to say it has been a struggle to design and develop. FAVORITE WAY TO SPEND A SUNDAY AFTERNOON? A walk in Audubon Park with my dog and a Pimm's Cup on the porch of the Columns. FAVORITE thing ABOUT LIVING IN NEW ORLEANS? The people, the spring weather, and the music — when you put all three together, you get Jazz Fest which is also one of my favorite things about living in New Orleans. FAVORITE PART ABOUT WHAT YOU DO? Working alongside and learning from incredible women, both here and in India. Also, I love wearing muslin day in and day out. FAVORITE QUOTE? "If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities." Maya Angelou

Interviews have been edited and condensed.

ADORE • APRIL 2021

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