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Madagascar-born Eric Raisina trained in the Paris ateliers of Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Lacroix before coming as a tourist to Angkor Wat in the late 1990s. He fell in love with the silk weaving and with the people and decided to stay. After a year spent training a dozen Khmer women to weave silk and raffia that he imports from Madagascar, Raisina began designing couture ball gowns, including skirts and wraps made of psychedelic hued ‘silk fur’ and men’s traditional fishermen pants reimagined in his talented hands. His fashion empire has grown from a boutique inside the house where he lived and his weavers worked to include multiple boutiques in Siem Reap, including a fabulous four-story couture atelier with a dramatic ground floor boutique in the so-called Charming City on the road to Angkor. The newest showroom and atelier opened in 2013 within the same week as his first boutique in Paris. The dramatic modern space showcases his Technicolor fashion and accessories, from his signature fluttering shawls and silk fur trimmed scarves to velvet cardigans and organza evening bags woven like those used by local fishermen to hold the day’s catch, tie-dye silk wraps, and dresses that he sends down catwalks from South Africa to New York. Indagare members can contact the Bookings Team for an introduction to the designer as well as a private couture appointment and visit to the workrooms.

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• Indagare