Dhivya Bala Design Studio · Seattle, WA · Spring 2026
Draped in
HistorySix Meters in Silhouettes
A New Collection · Eight Iconic Silhouettes · Upcycled Indian Textiles
Silhouettes
The Collection
Six Metres, Infinite Form:
The Sari and the Silhouettes of the West
Whether its the arts, film or interior design it is always the classics that we always return to for inspiration or reinterpretation!
This collection is an homage to the sari (an indian classic by itself) manipulated and deconstructed into classic silhouettes of the western world through the ages. This collection is a conversation between cultures, a love letter to fashion history written in the language of South Asian textile tradition. Each piece transforms pre-loved saris into iconic Western silhouettes, proving that heritage can be both preserved and reimagined.
The Eight Looks
Fashion history,
rewritten in silk
Each silhouette carries centuries of Western fashion history — now given new life in the drape and colour of an Indian sari.
Classical Antiquity
The Grecian
Gown
The oldest silhouette in the collection — and perhaps the most natural to the sari. Fluid column draping drawn from the ancient Greek chiton finds its truest expression in silk georgette: a fabric so light it barely exists, moving with the body rather than against it.
1810s · Regency England
The Regency
Jacket
Jane Austen’s era, reimagined in Indian silk. The high-waisted empire line and the pleated column skirt of the Regency silhouette find a perfect counterpart in a vintage Kanjeevaram — a silk so structured and lustrous it needs no embellishment to hold the room.
1920s · Art Deco
The Flapper
Dress
The dropped waist, the shimmer, the sense of perpetual motion. The 1920s Flapper found its rebellion in looseness — and this Lucknow Chikankari sari, with its hand embroidery and mukaish metalwork on sheer georgette silk, answers that call entirely. Two crafts separated by a century, speaking the same language.
1947 · Dior New Look
The Dior
Bar Suit
Christian Dior’s 1947 Bar Suit redefined femininity for a post-war world — the cinched waist, the padded hip, the full pleated skirt. Here, a chiffon sari with appliqué work is paired with silk brocade, the two fabrics in conversation: one for drape, one for architecture. Rich, textured, and unmistakably Dior — until you look closer.
1950s · Cocktail Hour
The Dior
Cocktail Dress
The 1950s cocktail dress — knee-length, full-skirted, impeccably constructed — is given new life in a Kanjeevaram silk sari. A garment made for arrival. The sari’s natural lustre and woven patterns do the work that couture houses would have entrusted to hand-beading: surface, depth, and the kind of quiet extravagance that doesn’t announce itself.
1960s · Swinging London
The Mod
Shift Dress
The 1960s Mod Shift stripped fashion back to geometry — straight lines, abbreviated hem, no waist to speak of. This look pays homage to Yves Saint Laurent’s iconic 1965 Mondrian dress. And it takes the concept of recycling further: each colour block is cut from deadstock fabrics or offcuts from other pieces in the collection. Nothing wasted. Everything intentional.
1966 · Yves Saint Laurent
YSL
Le Smoking Suit
The most transgressive silhouette in the collection. Yves Saint Laurent’s 1966 Le Smoking gave women the tuxedo — and with it, a language of power that fashion has never recovered from. The bold colour and high lustre of this silk sari give that authority a new dimension: power dressing that carries the weight of two cultures.
Timeless · Grand Occasion
The
Ball Gown
The collection closes with the grandeur of the Ball Gown — a silhouette that has stood the test of time. This piece is a recreation of an iconic gown by legendary couturier Charles James, rendered in a red embellished chiffon sari. Red: the colour that has dressed Indian women for weddings and ceremonies for centuries. Here it closes a conversation between two worlds.
The Designer
Born in South India.
Trained in Paris style.
Made in Seattle.
Dhivya Balasubramanian grew up in South India, where visits to a tailor were filled with excitement and anticipation — the thrill of a garment made exactly for you. At 30, she reinvented her career, returning to fashion school in San Francisco to train in French pattern-making and draping.
A coveted internship at Marchesa in New York City followed. Dressmaker and mother since 2013. Her atelier has been in Queen Anne, Seattle since 2019.
“My creations are my interpretations of the dual, conflicting, east-meets-west world that I inhabit.”
The Designer
Dhivya Balasubramanian
1005 West Howe Street
Queen Anne, Seattle WA 98119
dhivya@dhivyabala.comMon – Fri · 10am – 4pm
Collection Notes
Spring 2026
Eight looks · Made to order
Upcycled Indian saris & new fabrics
All pieces made to measure
Zero waste
@dhivyabala.designstudioReserve Your Place
Every piece is
made to order
Each look is available for commission — made to your measurements, in the fabric of your choice. Studio visits welcome by appointment.