A slow fashion house creating timeless quality pieces. Inspired by a love of Indian textiles, vintage silhouettes and old school craftsmanship. Each one of a kind piece is hand stitched in London from beautiful quality vintage silk, sourced in India.

In India, the cry of the kabadiwala calling out ‘scrap for cash’ is omnipresent. The kabadiwala ethos is based on the concept that rubbish is merely a resource in the wrong place, and we agree. Our vision is to honour Indian craftsmanship, to showcase Indian textile design and celebrate the age old Indian tradition of repurposing.

Bougainvillea dresses are handcrafted from pre-existing silk with early 20th century, hand cut, mother of pearl buttons. Our seasonless pieces characterise the slow fashion movement based on the ethos of no waste, no virgin materials and no factories. We source the vintage silk from textile dealers in India. This high quality natural fibre is luxurious, extremely durable and biodegradable. Silk regulates ones body temperature, making it an ideal cover up in the extreme heat and paradoxically perfect for layering to retain warmth. 

We endeavour to make clothes with integrity, beautifully handcrafted to be worn time and time again. The ‘Amande Atelier’ as it is affectionately known, near Battersea Park, includes Ava, her mother, a local seamstress and the hardest working member, a 50yr old Singer sewing machine.

STORY

Bougainvillea, a slow fashion house, started with a dress Ava  designed from a vintage silk sari, tailor made while in India visiting her partner's relatives. From there, a family business blossomed.

It is a true family enterprise with her partner’s family in India sourcing the textiles and her mother, Penelope Goddard, reprising her successful modelling career. The campaign shots are the result of a mother and daughter having fun, endeavouring to capture a moment that tells a story.4

The winter bestseller is named after her late grandmother, the actress Irene Richmond, who gifted her daughter a Singer sewing machine many moons ago. The Paprika and Cardamon dresses are named after her late Dalmatians and Masala her beloved Maine Coon. Cinnamon and Anise love doing the photo shoots, Saffron, the cat, is a little more retiring.

 Creating an unapologetic feminine aesthetic with cuffed blouson sleeves, raglan shoulders and diaphanous shapes, Ava reworks the iconic silhouettes from the 60s day dress to the bohemian 70s kaftan. These diaphanous one of a kind dresses place Indian textiles at the forefront of the narrative, blending bohemian elements with a sense of historical provenance rendering them timeless.