Merchants of India | Martin Eisenwood

Treating yourself to a stunningly beautiful wedding dress or dramatically different evening outfit from Merchants of India may not seem like an entirely selfless gesture on the face of it.

But Merchants of India is by no means a typical fashion house, because every penny of profit is ploughed into a Christian charitable venture and the manufacturing process provides valuable work and income for disadvantaged people.

Charity for orphanage

Merchants of India’s international award-winning fashion designer, Seema Isaiah, was born in Hassan, south of Bangalore, and has seen first-hand the distressing living conditions of many children and adults in southern India. Seema, who is a committed Christian, set up the UK charity to fund the building of an orphanage and employment training work shop, aiming to feed, clothe, house and educate disadvantaged children and adults close to her Indian home in Karnataka, near Bangalore.

In the spring of 2005, Seema, who has won international awards and acclaim, launched her company in the UK selling designer wedding gowns and bespoke outfits to personal customers or via the internet.

All the garments are manufactured to the highest standards in well-equipped workshops in India, providing essential work and funding training for people who are disadvantaged by disability, bereavement or family circumstances.

Seema’s innovative designs are a fusion of Western styling with traditional techniques, embroidery and fabrics used for hundreds of years in India. The intricate beading found on many of the garments uses a Persian embroidery technique called zardosi, which was brought to India by Mughal invaders in the 16th century.

A love for colour

Indian-influenced fashion has become increasingly popular over recent years in the West and Seema’s designs combine classic tailoring with the detailing and embellishment that has become so popular, making her clothes flattering and appropriate for women of all ages.

Recognising that people choose wedding dresses with care, often just to wear them on one occasion, Seema has created outfits that are flexible in use. Separate bodices can dress up a pair of jeans for a night out on a later occasion, and skirts that can be combined with a contrasting top for added flexibility.

A love of colour is in Seema’s blood, and this shines through her designs. Aware of a trend away from traditional wedding dresses and preferences for something out of the ordinary, many of her garments are available in a range of colours.

Her love of fashion design came from watching her mother at work. This inspired Seema to go on to study fashion design at college. She was then selected to represent her country in an international competition in Beijing where she won an International Young Fashion Designer Award.

‘The idea behind Merchants of India came to me while on holiday in Cornwall though’, she explains. ‘In my part of India there are many talented craftsmen and women, whose work, I felt, would be appreciated worldwide. So I decided to combine my design ideas with these traditional crafts, to create top quality original garments, and give something back to my home community.

‘Our immediate targets are relatively small, we are aiming to raise £40,000 to get the orphanage and training centre up and running, and from there I would ultimately like to buy more land and set up more centres around India’, she said.

http://www.merchantsofindia.com showcases Seema’s collection, all of which can be delivered within six to ten weeks. All alterations are free of charge.