Award-winning fashion designer Raishma spent fifteen years creating spectacular couture before launching her ready-to-wear collections, Raishma London and Raishma Studio. Her passion lies in designing beautifully cut occasion pieces that embody femininity and glamour — and she is driven to make that beauty accessible to women of all ages, sizes, backgrounds, and cultures.
Her designs are creative, unique, and timeless, showcasing a distinctive fusion of East and West. Craft sits at the heart of the brand: through artisan hand-beading, intricate embroidery, and hand-drawn prints created entirely in-house, Raishma creates pieces meant to be treasured for years, not seasons.
Sustainability, for Raishma, shows up in quietly unglamorous ways — smaller production runs instead of overbuying, fewer sampling loops, fabrics chosen to wear beautifully over time, and long-term teams who know the product inside out. It’s a considered, slow approach in an industry that rarely slows down.
Raishma’s global fan base includes international stars and Hollywood actresses such as Mel B, Amanda Holden, Goldie Hawn, and the Duchess of Edinburgh. The brand has also showcased at Paris Couture Week.
We caught up with Raishma for the latest in our My London series.
What is your favourite neighbourhood in London?
Marylebone, without question. It has that perfect balance of elegance, calm, and character that feels rare in a city as busy as London. The wide streets, the independent shops, the sense that things are done with a little more care — it always feels like a breath of fresh air. It’s a neighbourhood that inspires me every time I walk through it.
Where is your favourite place for brunch?
It depends on the occasion. For something truly special — a celebration or a slow, indulgent morning — the Chiltern Firehouse is hard to beat. The atmosphere is unlike anywhere else in London. But for a more relaxed, everyday kind of brunch, I love Granger & Co. The food is fresh, beautifully put together, and there’s a real lightness to the whole experience that I find very appealing.
Where do you find the best coffee in London?
The Monocle Café in Marylebone. It’s quietly stylish, never feels rushed, and the coffee is consistently excellent. It suits the neighbourhood perfectly — thoughtful, refined, and unpretentious.
What is your favourite gallery or museum?
The V&A, always. It’s one of the most extraordinary institutions in the world when it comes to decorative arts and textiles, and I never leave without finding something that sparks a new idea. Whether it’s an intricate piece of historic embroidery, an architectural detail, or an unexpected colour combination in a centuries-old garment, there’s always something to take away. It feels like a natural extension of my studio in many ways.
Tell us a secret about the brand.
So many of our prints begin life as the tiniest, most unlikely details spotted in everyday life — a pattern on a floor tile, something seen in a garden, a motif on a piece of vintage textile. That small observation gets sketched, developed, refined, and eventually becomes the centrepiece of a full collection. It’s one of the reasons I encourage the team to stay curious and keep looking. Inspiration is rarely where you expect to find it.
What is your favourite place to shop in London?
Marylebone High Street for independent boutiques — I love the sense of discovery you get from smaller, carefully curated shops where the owners genuinely know and believe in what they’re selling. And Liberty, always, for its beautiful curation. There’s nowhere quite like it. The building alone is inspiring before you’ve even looked at a single product.
Where do you go in London when you need inspiration?
London itself is my greatest source of inspiration. The architecture, the parks, the museums, the extraordinary mix of cultures and histories all living side by side — it’s endlessly generative. But more than anything, it’s the women I meet every day: the way they dress, move through the world, express themselves. That is always the starting point.
What would be your ideal London date destination?
A walk through Regent’s Park — especially in spring or early summer when the flowers are extraordinary — followed by dinner somewhere intimate in Marylebone. It’s a combination of the simple and the special, which I think is always the right balance.
What is your favourite park in London?
Regent’s Park. It has a grandeur and a peacefulness that I find genuinely restorative. The rose garden in particular is breathtaking at the right time of year, and it never fails to feed something creative in me.
What is your favourite food market?
Borough Market. It’s one of those rare places where food feels genuinely celebrated — the quality, the variety, the passion of the producers. Even if you’re not buying anything, just walking through it is an experience.
What is your sanctuary in the city?
My studio at home. It’s where everything comes together — ideas, fabrics, prints, and craftsmanship all in one space. When the outside world feels loud and fast, being in the studio brings me back to what matters. It’s a creative sanctuary, but also a very practical one.
What inspires you?
Travel and the way different cultures approach beauty, art, craft, and colour. Nature and its extraordinary patterns and textures. A piece of craftsmanship so well made that you want to understand every decision behind it. And the modern women who wear Raishma — their confidence, individuality, and the way they make each piece entirely their own. All of it feeds into what I do.
What are you loving this season?
Soft tailoring that feels considered rather than structured. Hand-drawn florals with real movement and personality to them. And pieces that feel effortless to wear but still carry a sense of occasion — that particular balance is something I’m always chasing.
