The creative force behind the brand, Pearl Uppal inherited her mother Kulbir’s deep passion for Indian needle crafts, love for custom made and uncompromising approach to quality. In her childhood and through her young adult life, Pearl never wore off the shelf. Her mother designed her every dress and got it hand sewn to her custom measurements and specifications. They designed and crafted together. Experimenting with hand sewing techniques, romancing colours through hand dyeing and dressing up luxurious fabrics with needlework artistry created their joint escapades at every milestone event, from day one of pre-nursery, to each birthday, first day of college and more. Every special occasion meant Pearl coming to her mom with her dream dress and Kulbir spared no effort to dress her dream. Her wedding trousseau was a treasure chest of heritage crafts and custom-made dream dresses. To this date, Pearl does not know her “standard size”. Made to measure is they only size in her wardrobe; her favourite dress silhouette sits between a sheath and a shift, her favorite colour is her own shade of black between charcoal and midnight, the favourite neckline sits between a crew neck and a boat, silhouette she wears always elongates her legs, enhances her shoulders; the surface always balances opulence against the simplicity of the canvas, the fabric always delights the skin. Her understanding of what she likes and what she doesn’t makes her want customers who are confident to explore and don’t settle at less.

Academically inclined towards science and technology, Pearl pursued a bachelor’s in engineering from Delhi college of engineering and master’s in technology management from IIT, thereafter making a flourishing career in the internet industry. There too, her interest in fashion did not stay away for long and she actively started work in the crossings of fashion, tech and retail. She founded and invested in fashion tech startups and the journey came a full circle when she re-joined hands with her mother to seed Talking Threads in end of 2013. In a short span of 6 years, by 2019, Talking Threads created and served a discerning clientele in over 70 countries. At this point Talking Threads was serving celebration and heritage couture, without addressing the bride and groom directly. The brand discovery and retail was primarily online through their global e-flagship. The covid pandemic in 2020 made physical retail come to a standstill and Talking Threads clients sent in requests from different parts of the globe for custom bridal, relying on Pearl’s design aesthetic, Talking Threads quality craftsmanship, attention to detail and custom couture capability. During this phase, Pearl started reimagining the bridal and evening couture industry with a narrative that puts the customer and her personal expression at the heart and center of the design process. The brides and grooms she worked with during this phase wanted their dresses to be an expression of their personality, they were discerning of quality workmanship and particular about the fit.

In that phase Talking Threads designs cut across different vibes, from modern romantic to heritage classic, from dreamy princess to dazzling glam, while being consistent on the core of elegance, sophistication, and timelessness. This phase was defining for Pearl to hone on her craft and understanding of her design philosophy. As she brought the bride and groom’s vision to life, as she dressed up the celebrant family members, she realised that her designs constantly sought a balance between opulence and simplicity, modern and tradition, art and pragmatism. She valued “classy” in every vibe. As the pandemic restrictions lifted, Pearl visited Indian bridal couture stores from the coveted big names to Chandni Chowk bridal retailers and also covered the small bridal designers and boutiques to deeply assess the friction from the consumer standpoint and how Talking Threads could make a difference. There began her journey to reimagine bridal and celebration couture and a mission to make bridal better.

In 2022 Talking Threads launched its first bridal and menswear collection Sonnet 18 and the bridal and wedding couture line will now get its first flagship in Mehrauli Delhi in January 2023, while the studio in Gurgaon will continue to host bespoke clients. Pearl and her mom’s deep love for needlecrafts, continues to keep their atelier busy in crafting future heirlooms in thread and gold work. The third line of evening couture is also gaining traction with dazzling cocktail sarees, beaded jackets, bespoke gowns and cashmere party accessories. Bridal & Celebration Couture, Heritage heirlooms and evening couture form the Talking Threads portfolio triangle.

As a young creative director, she took the fashion world by storm, leveraging her Draping expertise for this revolutionary retail clothing brand. In current times when fashion industry is imposing unrealistic beauty standards, Pearl challenged the status quo by exploring surfaces on the mermaid silhouette. Not only she experimented the corsetry but also featured diverse artists to create groundbreaking artworks for New Parsi Garas.
Her brand's success didn't stop at online global expansion as she recently launched her first flagship offline retail store at Mehrauli, Delhi that turned out to yet another milestone, embarking on her entrepreneurial adventure.

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