Embroidered Manila Shawl Skirt — ANTHEIA

For her wedding in Italy, my client sought a creation that would honor her roots while making a statement of individuality. She wished to wear something profoundly Spanish — a gesture to tradition, heritage, and the art of her homeland — but reimagined with a contemporary spirit. The answer was a reinterpretation of the traditional Spanish embroidered silk shawl — the mantón de Manila, known worldwide as the Manila shawl — transformed into a contemporary skirt.

From our conversations bloomed a garden in thread and crystal. She envisioned flowers not only stitched in silk, as in the classics, but enriched with beads, sequins, and crystals — embroidery alive with texture, depth, and light. Each detail designed to capture the feeling of being surrounded by nature in full bloom, an exuberant garden that invites the gaze to wander and discover infinite nuances.

The result, Antheia, is both a tribute and a transformation. Named for the goddess of blossoms and renewal, the skirt carries the heart of Spain in every stitch: vibrant color, joyful abundance, and the radiant celebration of life. The cascading silk fringe sways with each step, echoing tradition while embodying movement, joy, and a modern freedom of spirit.

This piece is an ode to Spanish heritage, to the force of nature and to femininity in its fullest expression. A Spanish garden reborn in embroidery, worn as living art.