Frequently Asked Questions
Discover the answers to your frequently asked questions about our products and services.
GENERAL
The brand Ashaalia was born from a passion for unique, bold designs and a need for generational, slow fashion. Offering individually hand-beaded garments in limited runs, Ashaalia is a fashion house unlike any other in that its bespoke pieces are designed in Australia by a designer of Indian heritage, creating a brilliant mix of Eastern and Western societies to deliver pieces that are perfect for every part of the world. Ashaalia pieces are designed to have limitless lives.
ASHAALIA is a combination of our founder's name ASHEEMA and her daughter's name AALIA. It is a nod to generational wear of passing down loved pieces to the next generation and to circular fashion. Asheema designs hoping to pass these pieces to her daughter one day. Her wish is that she can then wear ASHAALIA styled her way.
At ASHAALIA, we prioritize small production runs to avoid the pitfalls of mass production while supporting artisans and safeguarding traditional craftsmanship. By emphasizing karigari, ASHAALIA distinguishes itself from competitors by offering something far more profound - designs that resonate with the heart and soul of fashion, transcending surface trends to celebrate meaningful artistry. Every piece is designed with versatility and durability in mind, allowing it to be styled in multiple ways and remain timeless. This approach fosters a focus on quality over quantity, encouraging customers to invest in garments that bring lasting joy and reduce the environmental toll of disposable fashion, while building a foundation for generational wear. This lies at the heart of our sustainability ethos, ensuring our garments are cherished, worn repeatedly, and passed down rather
than discarded.
If you're unsure of your size, you can compare your measurements to our Size Guide or speak to our stylists via email or our Live Chat facility in the bottom right hand corner of your page.
Our size guide is a recommendation only and provides you with body measurements to compare against. It does not provide measurements of the garments.
If you are slightly bigger than any of the recommended size measurements, we always recommend sizing up, not down, as many of our fabrications are non-stretch.
Ashaalia is all about the beading! Indian artisans have been doing traditional forms of beading(karigari) for many generations and is an artform that has not been mastered outside of India. We believe in going to the source and keeping this traditional form of beading alive challenging todays' fast fashion economy by slowing down the process and appreciating the value of limited edition designs. Your forever pieces with limitless lives.
There will be a pre-order button on pieces that are currently in production due for delivery. As these pieces are limited in sizes and styles, pre-ordering provides you the opportunity to secure your size and style before it is available on our website for the general public to purchase. This way you avoid disappointment if your size or style sells out.
Yes, we accept returns within a specified period. Please review our return policy for more details
Ashaalia believes in a slow, circular fashion economy with limited edition pieces. As we are always designing new pieces and we like to show our Ashaalia tribe what is coming up next, we provide a pre order option. So if something catches your eye, we provide you the option to secure your size and style. Pre-orders ensure you don’t miss out!
We know from previous experience the pieces that haunt us are the ones that we didn’t purchase! Or worse seeing it on someone else!
Ashaalia is designed to be worn by the world! An online store ensures we can give everyone access to our beautiful pieces so we are staying away from bricks and mortar at this stage.
For stockist enquiries please email sales@ashaalia.com.
As ASHAALIA garments are individually hand beaded, extra care needs to be taken when wearing them. We also recommend spot drycleaning with a specialist drycleaner avoiding the beading where possible as the beading is delicate and regular drycleaning may cause damage. Each garment comes with spare beads should you need to replace them feel free to reach out tosales@ashaalia.com for assistance.
Karigari is at the heart of ASHAALIA’s identity.
It is a Hindi word that translates to "craftsmanship" or "artisanal work." It refers to the skill, artistry, and meticulous craftsmanship involved in creating products by hand, often through traditional techniques passed down through generations. These techniques are deeply rooted in cultural and regional traditions. For instance, zardozi (a form of embroidery with gold and silver thread) or bandhani (tie-dye) are crafts deeply tied to Indian heritage.
Karigari is not just about the finished product; it’s about the dedication, attention to detail, and cultural significance embedded in the process. The designs, patterns, and materials often carry stories or symbolism that reflect the heritage of a region or community. This storytelling is mirrored in ASHAALIA’s designs and collections, where beading becomes a significant feature in telling our narrative.
ORDER
The traditional beading methods passed down from Indian artisans used to make your couture pieces take some time. We design our pieces in Australia and then send them to India where each individual
bead/stone/crystal/sequin is hand sewn into the fabric before being stitched. This intricate personalisation and attention to detail is lost in today's world of fast fashion and with large volume factory-generated pieces. We hope you agree that our Ashaalia pieces are worth the wait!
Forms to initiate a return can be found on ourreturns policypage.
All our pieces go through a series of rigorous quality testing before dispatch. If you have received a faulty item, pleaseinitiate a returnand once approved we will go through the returns policy to either replace, provide a store credit, or refund your item.
Ashaalia will refund the full cost of the item if it is deemed faulty. You should see this processed into your bank account within 2 weeks upon resolution of the issue.
Due to the delicate nature of the beading on our pieces careful care is taken to ensure that they arrive at their destination safely. As such, we protect the inside with extra layers of protection to secure them for air travel. This may mean that your garment may arrive creased due to the careful folds. Simply remove them from the bag when you first receive your garment and let the creases drop out. A hand held steamer also works well just be extra careful of the beading. A professional dry cleaner can also steam out the creases for you.
As we ship globally to multiple markets we have chosen to not include any duties and/ or taxes in our prices.
- All orders are shipped from our warehouse based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Please consider the potential import taxes applicable in your region, as these will be payable directly to the shipper during the delivery process.
ASHAALIA is not responsible if customers are not notified by their country's postal authority that items are awaiting payment of customs duties and taxes.
In the event where a parcel is not claimed or refused by the receiver, re-delivery will be attempted. If a re-delivery is not arranged, the parcel may be destroyed and abandoned by authorities in the receiver's country. Consequently, there will be no refunds for parcels that are not claimed or refused.
In the event that your package is refused and returned to ASHAALIA, any return costs incurred will be the responsibility of the customer and deducted from your store credit refund.
Our website will detect your location and will give you the option to shop in your local currency if available.
You can change the website currency at the bottom of our website footer if you prefer to shop in a particular currency.
We may at times repeat styles that are in high demand, however these may be in limited quantities to maintain exclusivity and to minimise our impact on the environment. To avoid disappointment, we recommend ordering that outfit you have had your eye on to avoid missing out.We cannot always guarantee a repeat order or restock will occur in the exact style and colour you want.
You can subscribe to our newsletter to be notified of any restocks.
SHIPPING
Same-day delivery on all orders placed within the UAE. Orders placed after 4 PM will be delivered the next day.
Shipping time for any order outside UAE is 3 to 5 Business days (Subject to customs).
There is no delivery on the public holidays according to the dates of the destination country.
Signature is required at some destinations.
Once your order has been dispatched you will receive tracking details. Please contact sales@ashaalia.com for further assistance.
We can’t wait for you to have your beautiful pieces too! We work very hard to ensure we get these to you as quickly as possible and a tracking link will be provided in your email once the item is dispatched.
If the delivery requires a signature on arrival and you are not home, your order will most likely go to redelivery or to your local post office or depot for pick up
Once your order is dispatched, you will receive an email with a tracking number and shipping notification.
Please note it may take a few hours to become live so you can track your order please contact us sales@ashaalia.com if you have any concerns