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For fashion designers navigating multiple cultural frameworks and fashion systems, credibility is rooted not only in aesthetics but in authorship, craftsmanship, and performance in real wardrobes. Athmiha Saravanen is building a design career defined by this standard.
Born in South India and trained in New York, she unites heritage craft, adaptable construction, and digital precision to create refined, wearable design. Her garments don’t chase spectacle but function with clarity and intention, supporting the complexity of modern life while honoring the wearer’s autonomy.
Craft, Identity, and Design Philosophy
Saravanen’s early exposure to textile manufacturing in Tamil Nadu shaped her sensitivity to labor and technique. She experienced the full lifecycle of a garment, from dyeing processes in local factories to conversations with tailors on the shop floor of her family’s business.
That foundation instilled not only technical literacy but also a belief in design as self-determination.
Growing up, she encountered limiting messages about her appearance, like being told her clothing was “too tight” or “too dark” for her skin tone.
Rather than conform to those judgments, she began making her own clothing. This formative act became the foundation of her design ethos: clothing should reflect the wearer’s identity rather than suppress it.
Over time, that personal stance evolved into a broader creative philosophy, one rooted in precision, independence, and dignity for both maker and wearer.
Modularity as Method and Message
Saravanen is known for her modular design approach, an idea closely tied to the lives of modern women who navigate multiple roles daily.
Her garments feature adaptable elements such as detachable components, reversible layers, and reconfigurable structures that serve multiple functions while retaining polish and form. This versatility offers both aesthetic strength and practical value.
Her approach aligns with the principles of slow fashion and long-term wardrobe thinking, blending durability with adaptability.
For Saravanen, modularity is not only a functional tool but a mark of respect for time, context, and the individual. She designs with the understanding that clothing should evolve with the person wearing it and enhance how they inhabit their roles.
Academic Foundation and Early Industry Work
Saravanen earned an Associate in Applied Science at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), focusing on construction and apparel, and is completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts in sportswear and womenswear.
FIT’s technical rigor is evident in her process: she approaches design as engineering, treating garments as forms that must function structurally rather than just visually.
During her third semester at FIT, she collaborated with Harlem-based designer Edwin D’Angelo on his Fall/Winter 2024 collection for New York Fashion Week.
As lead illustrator and assistant designer, she sketched the whole collection, participated in silhouette development, refined materials, and supported decision-making from concept through presentation.
The collection’s NYFW debut gave her early exposure to the professional design cycle in a live, high-stakes setting.
Leadership at Veronica Beard and CFDA Recognition
In 2025, Saravanen was named one of four national recipients of the CFDA x Veronica Beard Creative Futures Scholarship, which included a $50,000 award and embedded her within Veronica Beard’s New York design headquarters.
Unlike a typical placement, this was a leadership role that entrusted her with complete design and development responsibility for two garments featured in the Spring/Summer 2026 commercial collection: a tailored vest and coordinating trousers.
She led every stage of development, from silhouette and proportion to fabric selection, custom hardware, patternmaking, and fittings.
The final pieces received production approval from the brand’s co-founders and were selected by buyers at Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue.
These garments are now set to retail across more than forty U.S. stores and two London flagships, and they are featured in the official Spring/Summer 2026 lookbook on Vogue Runway, a rare platform for a designer still completing her degree.
Saravanen’s influence at Veronica Beard extended across multiple seasons. She contributed to the Fall/Winter 2025 and 2026 collections through CAD work, embroidery detailing, and silhouette iteration.
Several of these elements are now being incorporated into future store presentations.
Her invitation to the 2025 CFDA Awards Gala, attended by leading figures such as Donatella Versace and Thom Browne, further confirmed her status as an emerging talent recognized by the industry’s highest echelons.
Digital Fluency and Construction Mastery
A key strength of Saravanen’s work is her ability to move seamlessly between conceptual vision and technical execution.
She has over six years of experience in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop and advanced proficiency in CLO 3D and Gerber AccuMark.
These tools support precision, efficiency, and lower-waste development by improving virtual sampling and fit simulation. Her digital expertise is central to making her modular designs viable for scaled production.
This technical fluency carries through to her construction decisions. She incorporates removable collars, adjustable fits, and other transformable details into garments that retain their structural integrity across settings.
The goal is not just adaptability, but excellence in function, form, and finish.
Professional Expansion
Image Source: Pexels
Saravanen currently works at Tanya Taylor, contributing to women’s ready-to-wear seasonal collections through silhouette development, technical drawing, fabric selection, and construction oversight.
Saravanen continues to expand her professional scope within the American womenswear industry, taking on roles that emphasize both creative leadership and technical oversight. Her work reflects a growing demand for designers who can direct seasonal collections while maintaining rigorous control over construction, fit, and production execution across nationally distributed lines.
Her broader experience includes work with Cucculelli Shaheen and KZK NYC, demonstrating her versatility across brand aesthetics and scales. Regardless of setting, her consistent focus remains: design must empower the wearer while upholding the highest standards of execution.
Design with Purpose
What distinguishes Saravanen’s design identity is the integration of craftsmanship and innovation grounded in lived experience.
She aims to make clothing that serves without simplifying, that enhances individuality without overwhelming it. Her work is technically refined, but it also speaks quietly and confidently to the real lives of those who wear it.
She also brings a personal sensitivity to class and representation within the industry.
Having entered fashion without financial privilege, she has faced environments where her appearance was expected to align with luxury norms.
Rather than mimic the visual codes of elite fashion, she chose to lead through the quality of her output. This choice further affirmed her belief that authority in fashion comes from execution, not performance.
Looking Forward
Saravanen’s long-term ambition is to become a senior designer at a globally recognized house such as Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, or Veronica Beard.
Within this scale, she intends to lead collections that bring together modular design, technical clarity, and recognition for the artisans who make high fashion possible.
A central focus of her future work is elevating under-credited handcraft, beadwork, braiding, embroidery, and other surface techniques, and ensuring that the artisans behind these details are acknowledged within the design narrative.
For her, honoring craftsmanship is not a trend, but a responsibility.
About the Author
Charlotte Whitmore is a London-based fashion journalist and brand storyteller covering emerging designers and the future of luxury. Her work explores craftsmanship, cultural influence, and the evolving business of modern womenswear.
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