Naushad Ali

Naushad Ali’s Tamil upbringing and current workplace Pondicherry is a big source of inspiration. For him, working in spiritually cognizant Pondicherry is quite literally worship. The designer says, “This sacred thought governs everything we make in a quiet, austere way. Pondicherry’s unique mix of traditional Tamilian culture and French influence inspires the minimal-modern aesthetic of the brand. My interests do not limit just to fashion. I'm drawn to anything that's visual and tactile. I love good cinema, world music, pottery, travel and good design in anything around me”.

Naushad Ali Image Gallery

Birthplace

Pondicherry

Birthdate

12th April 1985

Educational Qualification

B.Des in Textile Design in NIFT, Chennai; Bachelor in Fashion Design

Founding date/year of the brand

2014

How did your career begin?

After graduating from NIFT Chennai and working in the fashion industry for a while, he made his way to Auroville. Setting up Studio Liam in 2014, he created a design line that would transfer the expertise of Indian craftsmen to contemporary fashion. A pop-up store in Puducherry at the beginning of 2014 was a success and indicated that there was a niche market for Naushad Ali's “simple and easy” designs, as he likes to define it. Alongside his established women's wear, the pop-up store also saw the launch of “Indigo Love”, a range of men's shirts created out of organic,natural indigo dyed cotton, using age-old traditional dyeing techniques.

A Brief introduction about your brand/label?

Influenced by the mix of cultures that the country has to offer in terms of music, art, literature, and textile, Naushad Ali also takes inspiration from Pondicherry where Tamil and French cultures go hand in hand. The signatures of the brand are its use of heritage fabrics with attention to detail, its minimal and modern tailoring and its small batch production mindset. Since its launch in 2015, Naushad Ali has been dedicate

Celebrities in Naushad Ali

Alia Bhatt, Kiran Roa, Aditi Rao Hydari and Kalki Koechlin to name a few

Tell us briefly about your favorite collections

Naushad says, “My favourite one is what I created for IFS (International fashion showcase in 2019) for The British Fashion council. Every garment in the collection was done using different techniques of upcycling and recycling our own production cast-offs. The entire collection was naturally dyed in Indigo and exhibited in Somerset House in London during London Fashion week 2019.”

Awards & Accolades

Young Sustainable Designer of the Year, Grazia - 2016 Sustainable Designer of the Year, Elle India - 2019 Shortlisted to represent India at the International Fashion Showcase (IFS), London - 2019

One person living/dead you’d like to dress?

Greta Thunberg

Naushad Ali