New Yorker Emilie Ghilaga decided to escape Manhattan and spend a few months in Jaipur, India working for the historic Gem Palace jewelry store. While there, she met a tailor and made four dresses for herself. When she got home, all her friends wanted those dresses and her line, With Love, Emilie Ghilaga, was subsequently born. This week, Ghilaga is launching the line (think hot pink, silver, block prints) with a party. I sat down with the young fashion designer to talk India, dresses and her new roost in Williamsburg.  

What brought you to Jaipur and what did you bring back from the experience?
I left for Jaipur in the Fall of 2010 to spend five months in India, living, breathing, loving and learning. I interned for three months at the Gem Palace and then traveled around India for two months. I brought back patience, maturity, an overwhelming love for nature and people/human behavior, and a sense of courage through honesty. I also brought back a love of Indian food.
 
How did you come up with the four different styles?
Most Westners have a tailor in India. I have the most amazing tailor named Rajneesh, who I'm great friends with. He read my palm the first afternoon we met, on the roof of his factory. He told me that I was a loving person, but that I was very stern with my opinions and once I have made a decision I do not change my mind. I had him make me four dresses for my closet. I needed the flashy mini dress, the Charlotte the harlot; the perfect festival/beach dress, the daytripper; the simple yet glam benefit dress, the Gisele; and of course, the epitome of a woman's feminine spirit, the perfect girlfriend. After I designed the dresses and showed my friends they all freaked out. My mother also was very keen on me starting a business while I was in Jaipur, and thus the collection was born.
 
Tell me about the fabric hunt in India? What attracted you to the fabrics you used?
 Luckily, Raj supplies weavers and endless fabrics at my disposal. I am like a kid in a candy store when I am choosing the fabrics. Also, there are many other textile businesses especially in the Rajasthan area, which you can buy fabrics from. They are all the most beautiful cottons, silks, wool/cashmere blends that you have ever seen. I especially love the traditional Jaipurian "Block Print" which I have used for the daytripper and the perfect girlfriend dresses. I like purity, you are what you eat, and you are what you wear. This is a physical reality, I will never be attracted to fake fabrics.

What's it like being in Williamsburg after so much time in India?
 Williamsburg is the cat's pajamas. You can feel a burden lift off of you when you get off the subway or cross the bridge. And it is a beautiful feeling whenever I leave the city, because I was born in Manhattan, the city is like my big sister and I get to greet her each day, pay my respects to her, and admire the beautiful vista. However, when I first got back from India my culture shock was terrible. I couldn't talk to people, I was very goofy and awkward. I have found my balance again and it feels amazing. It is a new stage in my life and Williamsburg has eased me into it. Also, without Williamsburg, we would not have the beautiful lookbook photos.


How did being an NYC native help you navigate India?
Being a native New Yorker in India was exhilarating. At first, I was very introverted and cautious, and always remained very aware. But I started to gain confidence and an understanding of the people and knew how to play with them as they played with me. Meeting people of different cultures is a test, and you must be strategic to gain their trust. You must have an honest face -- the Indians can read a liar or a dark person instantly. And now, so can I. I would race through Jaipur in my rickshaw, driven by my surrogate father Perampal, who was a 70-year-old Sikh. He was one of the most beautiful, kind, people I have ever met, he picked me up each morning in Jaipur and took me to work. Then sometimes he would drop me off in the market and in sneakers and sunglasses I would race past the fruit sellers, the beggars, and colorful bangles and just appreciate and observe. 

You mentioned the dresses being perfect for being on a deserted island.
 Well, I have Utopian fantasies about deserted islands. Most of the people close to me can tell you that. If I were deserted on an island, such as Boomshakalaka Island, and had my four dresses with me, I would never be bored or upset with my clothing choices. I would be set for life. I would be stylish and productive -- a very simple and successful dichotomy. I could climb the coconut trees in the perfect girlfriend, and fish in the Gisele, for everyday activities, like building my shack I would wear the the daytripper, and I could swim in the Charlotte the harlot dress. But also in life, whether you are part of a city, the mountains or the ocean, a woman is free to be her wild self in these dresses. Free and yet enhanced. With Love, Emilie Ghilaga is about believing in nature, truth and beauty, but with discipline and respect. I want the girls who wear my dresses to shine like the sun, smile like angels and continue the revolution.