Bridging Realities: Conversations behind the craft
- Aparna Vasudevan
- Feb 5
- 6 min read
Updated: Feb 6
The Lesage house in Chennai was always a space that inspired me to appreciate detail, beauty, and value in everyday life. Watching the embroiderers who came to work every day on their bicycles from their homes on the streets far away, who brought with them generations of craft and skill, who created magnificent pieces of hand embroidery for Jean Francois Lesage. Every piece was a tapestry of history, and I observed the craft and, more importantly, the conversations that these embroiderers had amongst themselves.
Their lives were simple, and yet they carried invaluable gifts in the generational craft that Jean Francois was preserving through his business, which supplied exquisite bespoke embroidered furnishings for interior designers such as Peter Marino and Jacques Grange, and got Chanel on board as a major stakeholder four years ago.
I was 19 years old then and worked part-time helping my sister, who managed this incredible embroidery house for Jean Francois in 1997 in Chennai, India. My curiosity was fed by the conversations I overheard when the workers shared lunch in their shining tiffin boxes, and I observed the stark differences in their world and the destination of their beautiful creations. My mind often wandered as I was trying to find myself in these stories and conversations and connected with many small moments in their lives. I would sneak in to see what people ate for lunch, and I admired the joy in simple everyday moments - something that I learned from my father.
It was then that I met Marion Lesage.
Marion was Jean Francois's sister who was in India looking for help to find hidden gems in the streets of Chennai to help her as she created her store in Paris. What struck me about her was her simplicity - her style was minimal and basic and yet powerful in ways I couldn't imagine. She was digging deep in her creation to find the roots and the most unfiltered versions of craftsmanship in India to curate her collection. I was fascinated by how simple she was despite the exquisite and glamorous family she is a part of. And to be honest, that really inspired me and I was excited to help her with her initiative.
My fascination for stories and my thirst for exploring the streets took me to the very dusty and crowded streets in the quintessential Parry's Corner in Chennai; the wholesale market and business district named after Thomas Parry, a Welsh merchant who was instrumental in setting up Parry & Co in Chennai in 1789. One of the oldest and most congested areas in Chennai, the commercial streets were bustling with vendors and filled with a cacophony of sounds of two-wheelers, auto rickshaws, cycle rickshaws, bullock carts, and people walking the busy streets. The best and probably the only way to shop in this market is to walk or take an auto rickshaw. I jumped into an auto rickshaw every morning and spent the day walking through these streets, visiting shops and vendors in search of products to suit the needs of Marion and her little store in Paris. I dressed in a cotton salwar every day, hopped in an auto, and made sure I had my "dupatta" to cover my nose from the dust that the auto kicked up as it rattled through the crowded streets. I spoke in Tamil with the vendors in the market, the local language in town, and found every shop unique and the craftsmanship so deep-rooted in stories and generational skills, which were in many cases on the road to extinction through commercialization.
One of my favorite memories was a "pai kadai," a mat store where men and women made vibrant handwoven mats from korai grass. Marion was looking for handwoven carpets to mimic the simple stripe that inspired her from the everyday "dhoti" - a traditional, ankle-length loincloth made of handloom cotton fabric that is worn by local Indian men in South India. She often painted portraits of people on the streets of India in dhotis and was deeply inspired by the pure cotton handloom fabrics worn by the local people. The colors in this market were vibrant, and I worked with them to create bespoke and simple versions in natural grass with muted stripes to mimic the quintessential dhoti stripe. They could hardly believe why one would want more muted and plain colors, and I appreciated the "luxury" of color intertwined in the history and culture and often represented in the more "premium" collections for sale. It took some convincing and several iterations to land on a "basic" sample that worked for Marion's needs, and we created a beautiful and perfect "pai" for her store together. We ordered several sizes of these to sell in the store as well, and these were treasured and very appreciated in Paris. They were certainly hard to come by, and the beauty in the simplicity of these was unmatched.
On one of my adventures, I met a young couple who traded bandages and gauze fabric. They ran a little wholesale business and came from a family of traders. Culturally, I found that the men led the conversations in many cases with expected negotiations with any potential client. In this case, I offered a higher price and looked for a simpler product, which was baffling to many. I noticed the young man's wife on a sewing machine and asked her if she would make 5000 "envelopes" for me with gauze fabric. I would need a stripe like a dhoti stripe added on these after. The man looked away and paid little interest to my bespoke and time-consuming ask. The lady's eyes twinkled and she giggled with excitement at the idea. Her energy was endearing and kindled the curiosity of her husband, who I later learned was an artist. I offered a very generous price for the order and the two of them were excited to take this project on. They made 5000 handmade envelopes which served as shopping bags at the store to give away Marion's beautiful lingerie line that we worked together to create using handloom cotton fabrics.
During another search, I sought out antique wood shops to recreate vintage hangers. I discovered an antique store and collaborated with woodworkers to produce 1950s-inspired wooden garment hangers for the shop. These hangers were designed to showcase a clothing line that Marion designed and we developed together. To achieve this, I sourced exquisite handloom cotton dhotis, which were converted into a soft, simple and straight nightwear collection. I partnered with a small sampling unit of a large garment factory to produce this collection per Marion's specific patterns and specs. It was incredibly inspiring to connect craftsmen with sources of raw, imperfect materials to create a line that was both simple and extraordinarily beautiful. I was particularly struck by the sparkle in nearly every one of my partner's eyes during this venture—they all truly enjoyed being a part of this transformative process and appreciated the creativity and attention to detail that it warranted.
It would be remiss of me not to highlight my search for vintage paper. Marion was an artist who was inspired by the people on the streets of India and Africa. She created beautiful and simple watercolor portraits of people and often painted on old paper from books that had original scripts and print. I visited several old bookstores where paper was sold to be recycled, and I rummaged through books to find print in local script. This paper was used as a background to accentuate her simple portraits and conveyed a powerful message of authenticity and character in her work.
And the stories continue... Every one of the many interactions that followed involved conversations which sought to bridge two completely different worlds. The creative journey and the transformation that followed was truly life-changing for me personally, and I learned a key truth about myself that remains true after 25 years! I learned that I am a story - created by many singular small moments and conversations that I have had with people who touched my life over the years. My life's purpose is to build bridges through stories - of people, their history, their values, their culture, their craft, and their commerce.
My experience with Marion planted a seed of curiosity in me, which helped me take the next step in my life: to hop on a plane and move to the US to understand the other side of the world and its people. Years later, I found myself a career in fashion and retail, but my heart continues to look for stories every single day - in every moment through conversations and encounters that enrich my life in ways beyond my imagination. Thank you, Dad, for being my inspiration to appreciate life's small and simple moments and to get started on sharing some of my stories and my life's journey.
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