CHAMELI chuh-MEH-lee/ चमेली

The Sanskrit word for jasmine, a flower that opens gently in the morning and leaves its scent behind long after dark. Easy to grow in warm places, it has a habit of filling a room without saying a word. It felt like the right name for a brand built on things discovered rather than sought out. Chameli is a lifestyle brand for the well-travelled, founded by Sonya Pala. Gujarati by heritage and raised in Fiji, she grew up immersed in Indian culture and island life before making Sydney home. Warm air, salt on skin and days spent mostly outdoors shape the world of Chameli.

In Fiji, life moves between tropical gardens, beaches and the warm South Pacific. Frangipani in the evening air, windows open to the breeze and long tables where family gathers as the light softens. Fijian and Indian influences sit naturally alongside one another, expressed through colour, textiles, food and tradition. Sydney brings another rhythm, wide beaches, open skies and the quiet ease of coastal living. Days begin by the water and drift between sea swims, shaded verandahs and long afternoons outdoors. Chameli brings these worlds together through considered design, nostalgic references to 1970s glamour and prints and textiles discovered along the way.

Never precious, pieces are handmade in small quantities in ateliers led by women, designed to move easily from everyday life to evening and to be worn for years. A collection often starts with a search rather than a sketch: a print found in a small studio, a fabric or trim that might not be found again. The Chameli aesthetic draws on the soft romance of the 1970s, sun-washed colour, vintage interiors, heirloom jewellery, pieces collected over time. Chameli began with a feeling, the one you get when you find something beautiful a long way from home.

Chameli is for the woman who has collected her wardrobe the way she has collected her life, a little unplanned, a little well-travelled and entirely her own.