I grew up surrounded by the colors, fabrics and traditions of India. I travel to India, to handpick gorgeous fabrics to design Mayil scarves They are few of a kind, designed by me with some finishing touches done by women (Sudha and others) from my rural village. I come from a family of weavers. My cousin (Shanthi) used to weave exquisite silk sarees - one at a time. My great grandfather owned a silk saree shop (javuli kadai) in Nagercoil (southern India) I love the feel of fabric and it flows in me. Recently I decided to take the plunge and said "Goodbye Engineering - Hello Scarves"
Mayil means peacock in Tamil (spoken in southern India, one of the oldest surviving classical languages). Like feathers of the peacock, Mayil scarves are a kaleidoscope of colors. 18th century tailors were known to use the peacock feather as a symbol for their fine fabric creations. Add a splash of color, peacock style - be it the jewel tones of ruby red, emerald green and sapphire blue; the spice colors of turmeric, saffron, cinnamon and clove; the soft shades of jasmine and rose; or the metallic zari and shimmering sequins.
Madavi Oliver
