“I'm a self-confessed textiles geek," says Vickie El-Rayyes, when we sat down for a chat. And if you know anything about her fashion and lifestyle brand Dilli Grey, you'd be inclined to agree.
A lover of embroidery and hand-block printing, Vickie can often be found pouring over her favourite exhibits at the V&A or jetting off to uncover the many layers of India – pre-pandemic, of course.
Influenced by the intricate byways of Rajasthani villages and the bold hues of Jaipur (fondly known as the ‘Pink City’), Vickie has spent many a year exploring India and learning about the countries historic craftsmanship and intricate techniques from multi-generational artisans.
Meet the Maker:
Vickie El-Rayyes
The Dilli Grey founder on
multi-generational craftsmanship
and her enduring love for India.
Feeling inspired (and with over 20 years in the fashion industry under her belt), Vickie founded Dilli Grey in 2015, with the passion to create an ethical lifestyle label that works in a fair trade partnership with a network of Rajasthani makers. Each beautifully made, one-of-a-kind piece is crafted for its wearer to treasure forever.
The making process? As intricate as you'd expect. Vickie collaborates with several multi-generational creators to curate her collections. Take 'Chikankari’ – a style of embroidery traditional to Lucknow – it's created by a women’s co-operative based outside of Jaipur and one of the ways Vickie continues to honour the artistry of this colourful country.
"Working alongside multi-generational artisans has given me a deep respect for the artistry involved – the block carving, dyeing, printing…it is such a multi-layered, slow process to craft one item."
Join us as we celebrate the culmination of colours, prints and textures of Dilli Grey for Anthropologie – the brand new collection – and meet the inspired maker behind it all.
The making process? As intricate as you'd expect. Vickie collaborates with several multi-generational creators to curate her collections. Take 'Chikankari’ – a style of embroidery traditional to Lucknow – it's created by a women’s co-operative based outside of Jaipur and one of the ways Vickie continues to honour the artistry of this colourful country.
"Working alongside multi-generational artisans has given me a deep respect for the artistry involved – the block carving, dyeing, printing…it is such a multi-layered, slow process to craft one item."
Join us as we celebrate the culmination of colours, prints and textures of Dilli Grey for Anthropologie – the brand new collection – and meet the inspired maker behind it all.
How did the Dilli Grey for Anthropologie collection come together? What was the inspiration for curating the capsule and the designs of the exclusive items?
One of the reasons that I decided to collaborate with the team at Anthropologie is that they completely understand everything Dilli Grey represents as a lifestyle brand. Some of the Anthro buying team are already customers of ours, and their faith and trust in supporting my lead and design on the whole collection is so wonderful. Together, we want to show the breadth of the product we offer from homeware through to the sleepwear, and not just the clothing element of what we do.
We designed two colour stories for the collection, one incredibly soft palette that had a vintage, feminine vibe, and the other with more vibrant tones that’s filled with some much-needed joy – to give a real nod to Anthropologie’s signature aesthetic.
Is there a meaning behind the name?
Dilli is Hindi for ‘Delhi,’ and one of my favourite places to go in Delhi is the Dilli Haat open-air bazaar, food market and hub of crafts – it’s fun, colourful energy and craftmanship is what I want to capture in the spirit of my brand; whilst the ‘Grey’ adds a contrast of calm and mindfulness that I feel artisan products need to bring to a home. We want to provide a balance of fun, uplifting prints and colours, alongside dreamy, calmer palettes.
Before founding your own brand, you worked for many other fashion names. What industry knowledge did you make sure to bring with you?
I think the biggest learning is to design and create for your customer, rather than being driven by passing fast fashion trends. I’m always listening and responding to what our audience wants to wear – or add to their homes – by truly understanding their lifestyle, buying habits and bodies, we then put a Dilli Grey spin on it to delight and surprise her with elevated versions of that. It’s been overused a lot, but if people don’t have a reaction when they interact with our products, we haven’t done our job and injected the magic that ‘sparks the joy.’
One of the reasons that I decided to collaborate with the team at Anthropologie is that they completely understand everything Dilli Grey represents as a lifestyle brand. Some of the Anthro buying team are already customers of ours, and their faith and trust in supporting my lead and design on the whole collection is so wonderful. Together, we want to show the breadth of the product we offer from homeware through to the sleepwear, and not just the clothing element of what we do.
We designed two colour stories for the collection, one incredibly soft palette that had a vintage, feminine vibe, and the other with more vibrant tones that’s filled with some much-needed joy – to give a real nod to Anthropologie’s signature aesthetic.
Is there a meaning behind the name?
Dilli is Hindi for ‘Delhi,’ and one of my favourite places to go in Delhi is the Dilli Haat open-air bazaar, food market and hub of crafts – it’s fun, colourful energy and craftmanship is what I want to capture in the spirit of my brand; whilst the ‘Grey’ adds a contrast of calm and mindfulness that I feel artisan products need to bring to a home. We want to provide a balance of fun, uplifting prints and colours, alongside dreamy, calmer palettes.
Before founding your own brand, you worked for many other fashion names. What industry knowledge did you make sure to bring with you?
I think the biggest learning is to design and create for your customer, rather than being driven by passing fast fashion trends. I’m always listening and responding to what our audience wants to wear – or add to their homes – by truly understanding their lifestyle, buying habits and bodies, we then put a Dilli Grey spin on it to delight and surprise her with elevated versions of that. It’s been overused a lot, but if people don’t have a reaction when they interact with our products, we haven’t done our job and injected the magic that ‘sparks the joy.’
Print seems to play an important role in your designs. What is it about bold pattern that you’re so drawn to?
I'm a self-confessed textiles geek – with embroidery and hand-block printing my two true loves. I love how bold patterns evoke a real reaction in people – something as simple as a printed quilt can totally transform the look and feel of a bedroom without having to spend a fortune on overhauling the whole room, while similarly a statement block-print dress is an instant outfit – no accessories required and is guaranteed to garner attention!
And what specifically is it about Indian heritage prints and craftsmanship that captures your imagination? This sits right at the heart of Dilli Grey…
After 20 years of working in India, I’ve created alongside multi-generational family printers who’ve now become friends and mentors. I’ve been lucky enough to be hands-on at every stage of the process, which has given me the deepest respect for the art involved. From sourcing the raw organic cotton fabrics we use, to block-carving, dyeing and printing – it’s such a multi-layered process, and so many skills and hands involved in making one dress or quilt.
The value is put not in the speed and efficiency of production, but the skills to carve the wood blocks or print the fabric purely by eye, without relying on a piece of machinery to replace a centuries’ old craft. I love that in our fast-paced world, this hasn’t been lost and I want to keep championing it so it can remain a viable career for young garment workers in India.
Does this appreciation spread to India as a whole? In what ways is this expressed?
Having travelled the breadth of India, my heart – and the home of Dilli Grey – will always be in Rajasthan. It’s home to our artisan team and is where I draw inspiration from the landscape, colours, art and architecture. That said, I love the energy of Mumbai, the nature of Kerala and the beaches of Goa. I feel like even in 20 years, I have barely scratched the surface of India and I’m constantly discovering new places – with many more on my wish list!
I'm a self-confessed textiles geek – with embroidery and hand-block printing my two true loves. I love how bold patterns evoke a real reaction in people – something as simple as a printed quilt can totally transform the look and feel of a bedroom without having to spend a fortune on overhauling the whole room, while similarly a statement block-print dress is an instant outfit – no accessories required and is guaranteed to garner attention!
And what specifically is it about Indian heritage prints and craftsmanship that captures your imagination? This sits right at the heart of Dilli Grey…
After 20 years of working in India, I’ve created alongside multi-generational family printers who’ve now become friends and mentors. I’ve been lucky enough to be hands-on at every stage of the process, which has given me the deepest respect for the art involved. From sourcing the raw organic cotton fabrics we use, to block-carving, dyeing and printing – it’s such a multi-layered process, and so many skills and hands involved in making one dress or quilt.
The value is put not in the speed and efficiency of production, but the skills to carve the wood blocks or print the fabric purely by eye, without relying on a piece of machinery to replace a centuries’ old craft. I love that in our fast-paced world, this hasn’t been lost and I want to keep championing it so it can remain a viable career for young garment workers in India.
Does this appreciation spread to India as a whole? In what ways is this expressed?
Having travelled the breadth of India, my heart – and the home of Dilli Grey – will always be in Rajasthan. It’s home to our artisan team and is where I draw inspiration from the landscape, colours, art and architecture. That said, I love the energy of Mumbai, the nature of Kerala and the beaches of Goa. I feel like even in 20 years, I have barely scratched the surface of India and I’m constantly discovering new places – with many more on my wish list!
When you’re in India/Rajasthan (but not working!) what’s your favourite things to do and see there?
To be honest, Jaipur especially, feels like a second home, so when I’m not working it’s less about the ‘tourist trail’ and more about catching up with friends, socialising (which usually means eating!), making the most of the amazing Ayurvedic treatments on tap and shopping, always shopping. I’ve noticed more and more young Indian designer concept stores and boutiques opening in Jaipur in the last 5 years – it’s exciting to see new talent emerging and adopting heritage techniques in a modern way.
What do you love most about incorporating these traditional details into modern collections?
My main hope is that it brings heritage textile crafts to a new, younger audience, globally. We absolutely want to champion and reference the origins and heritage of the skills used to create our designs but show how they can be used perhaps in unexpectedly colourways, or on modern silhouettes to appeal to a younger demographic – which I’ll keep the appetite for the hand-block print aesthetic alive.
It seems like a very collaborative relationship between your base in UK and India. Tell us a bit about how that works…
I don’t see any other way of working that can be truly ethical and fair. Whilst as Creative Director my designs are dreamed up here in the UK, they’re absolutely brought to life through the eyes and hands of our teams in Jaipur. Lalit, one of our hand-block printers always defines our relationship as “I dream in colour and he dreams in print.” We’re both small business owners and the synergy of how we work together has enabled us to both grow our teams over the last year, which is an amazing feeling. Having that close working relationship and supporting each other makes it about so much more than ‘pretty frocks’ – it’s rooted in livelihoods and doing what we are both passionate about. It means the world.
To be honest, Jaipur especially, feels like a second home, so when I’m not working it’s less about the ‘tourist trail’ and more about catching up with friends, socialising (which usually means eating!), making the most of the amazing Ayurvedic treatments on tap and shopping, always shopping. I’ve noticed more and more young Indian designer concept stores and boutiques opening in Jaipur in the last 5 years – it’s exciting to see new talent emerging and adopting heritage techniques in a modern way.
What do you love most about incorporating these traditional details into modern collections?
My main hope is that it brings heritage textile crafts to a new, younger audience, globally. We absolutely want to champion and reference the origins and heritage of the skills used to create our designs but show how they can be used perhaps in unexpectedly colourways, or on modern silhouettes to appeal to a younger demographic – which I’ll keep the appetite for the hand-block print aesthetic alive.
It seems like a very collaborative relationship between your base in UK and India. Tell us a bit about how that works…
I don’t see any other way of working that can be truly ethical and fair. Whilst as Creative Director my designs are dreamed up here in the UK, they’re absolutely brought to life through the eyes and hands of our teams in Jaipur. Lalit, one of our hand-block printers always defines our relationship as “I dream in colour and he dreams in print.” We’re both small business owners and the synergy of how we work together has enabled us to both grow our teams over the last year, which is an amazing feeling. Having that close working relationship and supporting each other makes it about so much more than ‘pretty frocks’ – it’s rooted in livelihoods and doing what we are both passionate about. It means the world.
Your collaborative partnership with Rajasthan also provides support to those in local communities. Are you able to tell us about this?
Yes. I’m super conscious of ‘greenwashing’ and token charity gestures, so it’s something that very much happens organically and behind the scenes – but last year we raised £10k through our commerce with compassion fund, which fed and provided emergency aid to out-of-work garment workers during the first wave of the pandemic. We also support through the sale of sponsored products at a women’s refuge, and retraining centre outside Jaipur that offers commercial sex workers a viable, safe route out of that life to retrain as block printers and seamstresses. It’s a powerful project and one we hope to work with more this year.
If you had to pick a favourite (or two!) from the Dilli Grey for Anthropologie Collection, what would they be?
Ok, this is hard! But it must be the turquoise and peach hand-block printed quilt – it’s so very classically Dilli Grey in the colours, and the combination of prints really represent everything I love about the craft I’m passionate about keeping alive. My other favourite (sorry! I’m a maximalist and could never choose just one) is our pink Bianca hand-block printed dress – it’s pure joy in a dress; it makes me so happy to wear and always turns heads. I’ll be in my wardrobe forever and that’s how we design our clothing, I want them to be treasures and hopefully future vintage pieces, too.
Yes. I’m super conscious of ‘greenwashing’ and token charity gestures, so it’s something that very much happens organically and behind the scenes – but last year we raised £10k through our commerce with compassion fund, which fed and provided emergency aid to out-of-work garment workers during the first wave of the pandemic. We also support through the sale of sponsored products at a women’s refuge, and retraining centre outside Jaipur that offers commercial sex workers a viable, safe route out of that life to retrain as block printers and seamstresses. It’s a powerful project and one we hope to work with more this year.
If you had to pick a favourite (or two!) from the Dilli Grey for Anthropologie Collection, what would they be?
Ok, this is hard! But it must be the turquoise and peach hand-block printed quilt – it’s so very classically Dilli Grey in the colours, and the combination of prints really represent everything I love about the craft I’m passionate about keeping alive. My other favourite (sorry! I’m a maximalist and could never choose just one) is our pink Bianca hand-block printed dress – it’s pure joy in a dress; it makes me so happy to wear and always turns heads. I’ll be in my wardrobe forever and that’s how we design our clothing, I want them to be treasures and hopefully future vintage pieces, too.
What does an average day in the office look like (if there is one)?
Has anything been normal in the last year!? Obviously, the biggest change has been that we’ve had to do all our designing, sampling, and production remotely this year. Usually, I’m in India 3-4 times a year to not only work on the collections, but to create content with our creative team there, meet with charities and new, upcoming artisans we can work with. So, there’s a lot of Zoom calls in the day! I’ve a small-but-mighty team of women around me, helping me with the logistics of getting our designs from my mad sketches into the hands of our customers – it’s quite a journey!
All your designs have an ethical ethos – Are you able to tell us a bit about this? Why is this so important to you?
I feel like many big brands make a lot of noise about making small token gestures towards ethical or sustainable production and it really devalues and undermines those words in the eye of the consumer. It’s not actually that hard to be ‘ethical’ – it just means being kind and honest, and from start to finish ensuring that every person involved in your business is treated well, respectfully and paid fairly. If you build a business from scratch with that in mind it feeds into everything you do and just becomes the norm, you don’t need a policy on it, or a sustainable collection and it’s that hard-wired ethical approach to fashion – and retail as a whole – that I want to see more of on the high street.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
When a woman puts on a dress I’ve designed and immediately stands taller or does that little jig of happiness – there’s no feeling of pride like it.
Has anything been normal in the last year!? Obviously, the biggest change has been that we’ve had to do all our designing, sampling, and production remotely this year. Usually, I’m in India 3-4 times a year to not only work on the collections, but to create content with our creative team there, meet with charities and new, upcoming artisans we can work with. So, there’s a lot of Zoom calls in the day! I’ve a small-but-mighty team of women around me, helping me with the logistics of getting our designs from my mad sketches into the hands of our customers – it’s quite a journey!
All your designs have an ethical ethos – Are you able to tell us a bit about this? Why is this so important to you?
I feel like many big brands make a lot of noise about making small token gestures towards ethical or sustainable production and it really devalues and undermines those words in the eye of the consumer. It’s not actually that hard to be ‘ethical’ – it just means being kind and honest, and from start to finish ensuring that every person involved in your business is treated well, respectfully and paid fairly. If you build a business from scratch with that in mind it feeds into everything you do and just becomes the norm, you don’t need a policy on it, or a sustainable collection and it’s that hard-wired ethical approach to fashion – and retail as a whole – that I want to see more of on the high street.
What is the most rewarding part of your job?
When a woman puts on a dress I’ve designed and immediately stands taller or does that little jig of happiness – there’s no feeling of pride like it.