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The unit is now creating more of such embroidered footwear to Links of London Sale released next summer, for a larger audience. "Our clients are those who would display our work near their Picassos; they are those who do not choose to invest in gold or land over art, but can afford to spend money on those as well as art and embroidery," says Lesage. Lesage looks deceptively simple, seated at a cluttered desk in his non-air-conditioned, first- floor office, clad in a white kurta, identical to those worn by his embroiderers downstairs. "The white is to avoid any distraction from colours and patterns while embroidering," he explains. His embroidery unit houses 50 embroiderers hailing from nearby villages and slums, and caters to just about all kinds of "royalty" around the world. Embroidery, according to Lesage, is neither Indian nor French. "Embroidery originated in China and Persia, and Links of London Rings introduced to India and Europe by artists who travelled with Persian and Chinese soldiers when they went about invading the countries," he says. "In Chennai, especially in Sriperumbudur in the Kanchipuram district, embroiderers were trained to cater to the Nawab of Arcot and subsequently, the British. Indian motifs here are, hence, highly adaptable." Vastrakala uses motifs from every venerable tradition one can think of-Renaissance, Persian, Ottoman, African and Japanese. "Any modern design not confirming to these traditions is called an American motif," Ganesh laughs. Lesage's family has been long associated with embroidery. His family had bought the House of Michonnet from the Michonnet family in 1924 to create the House of Lesage. The House of Michonnet was created in 1860 and supplied textiles to Napoleon III, grandson of Napoleon I. "It was his wife Empress Eugenie who set the luxury trend for embroidery in France. She used embroidered cloth to decorate walls, and gift it to people," says Lesage. When Lesage travelled to India in 1990, he was enamoured by the quality and artisanship produced by the Links of London Small Sweetie Bracelet With Freshwater Pearl industries here, especially in textiles and threadwork. "Kanchipuram and Banaras handwoven cloth are a legend by themselves," he says. "But soon, there was a shift in economic policy which encouraged mass factory production over rare small-scale creation. Traditional skills started fading." He says this was an opportunity. The skill was here and so was the talent, all it needed was a channel and Lesage decided that he would be that channel. In 1993, Lesage sold his family business-the House of Lesage-in France to the Chanel group and set up Vastrakala in collaboration with Patrick Savouret, Sandeep Rao and Malavika Shivakumar. The holding company, JFL (Jean Francois Lesage) is registered in France. That year, Lesage set out with a team of five embroiderers, creating designs and making collectibles which he would then exhibit in shows. The name Lesage helped in attracting viewers who turned clients. "Initially, that is when he was holding annual shows in the mid-1990s, the clientele was mostly European," says Ganesh. The walls of Lesage's office are covered with Links of London Small Sweetie Golden Bracelet of samples of designs.