Most Indian designers are known for taking Indian ethnic wear fashion to the global platform but Goa-based fashion Designer Karishma Mehta adopted just the opposite by bringing global fashion trends to Indian fashion enthusiasts. Under her label, Thiana Karishma curates fine western wear designs including the catholic wedding gowns, cocktail gowns, and western party wear collection. Her collections are all about ready-to-wear, environment friendly and affordable western wear.
She has been running her label Thiana successfully for the last 7 years in Goa, an Indian holiday destination popular for its large Catholic population, beautiful beaches, and high-end party life. A fashion designing graduate from Stanodec institute of professional studies, she started her label to cater to the relatively lesser served segment by Indian fashion designers, that is catholic bridal wear and wedding wear segment. She says 'Indian traditional wedding wear segment is already crowded and dominated by many designers though very few of them cater to catholic weddings so I thought why not start in a segment that lacks attention in Indian fashion galleries."
Her first participation in international fashion week was in Bay 15 resort Goa where she presented her collection 'Expressions'. In her next collection 'Serene' she presented beautiful catholic bridal wear inspired by the thoughts of the bride. The collection included themed catholic bridal and wedding wear. She has also presented her collection at the Goa Tourism Department's event 'Grape escapade' which was the collection of partywear and cocktail gowns. She believes that Indian garments though appreciated worldwide but still have limited reach to Indian audiences globally in terms of wearability. To compete in global fashion trends, we also need to design apparels that look wearable to audiences beyond geographical boundaries. One of her collections was also telecasted on FTV's international channel which is known to cover renowned or upcoming faces in the global fashion arena.
After a few years of designing apparel from all kinds of fabrics and materials, she has recently shifted to using environment-friendly fabric and materials for her designs. She believes that it is better late than never. She now uses fabrics like Modal, Tencel, rayon, and Bamberg that are made with skin-friendly material. Her designs include beautiful embroidery, floral patterns, and modern cuts. With her designs she wants to send the message that fashion does not need to harm the environment, both can co-exist safely. She says "Designers and labels at all levels are realizing the importance of sustainable fashion. Small efforts may result in big changes."
She is born and raised in Delhi and has shifted to Goa post marriage. She is a commerce graduate and had utilized her skills in supporting her husband's business for a few years, but she later completed 2 years diploma course in fashion designing and directly launched her label Thiana after completing the course. She says "I already had some idea of managing and executing the business which helped in launching my own label just after completion of the course."
