Sheetol Chawla is an award-winning wearable sculpture artist based in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. Through research-led artistic practice, she creates museum-quality wearable artefacts that transform cultural histories, mythology, spirituality, and collective memory into contemporary sculptural forms. Rather than creating fashion for commercial production, her work exists as an evolving body of artistic research that preserves stories, encourages dialogue between cultures, and explores the shared experiences that connect humanity.

Having migrated from India to Aotearoa New Zealand, Chawla’s practice is also shaped by a personal exploration of identity, belonging, and place. Living between two cultures has led her to continually reflect on questions of who we are, where we come from, and how cultural memory is carried across generations and borders. These experiences have become central to her practice, inspiring bodies of work that seek to honour diverse histories while building meaningful connections between people, cultures, and nations.

Her major bodies of work include EOS, inspired by the Greek goddess of dawn; Black Lioness, exploring the symbolism and transformative power of the Hindu goddess Kaali; REINGA, a respectful tribute informed by Māori understandings of Te Rerenga Wairua and the spiritual journey of the wairua; MOANA, celebrating Aotearoa New Zealand’s oceanic identity; and the ongoing Medici Project, which investigates history, architecture, and cultural legacy through the Renaissance.

Internationally recognised through the Hokonui Fashion Design Award, the French Fashion Awards, and the World Design Award at Miss World, Chawla’s practice extends beyond exhibitions and accolades. Her long-term vision is the creation of a permanent artistic archive—one that preserves cultural knowledge, fosters cross-cultural understanding, and contributes to cultural diplomacy through wearable sculpture. Each body of work becomes another chapter within this expanding archive, created not only to be experienced in the present but to remain meaningful for future generations.