Fashion designer | France
Shala Nourmamode
Born in 1994
About the creator
- Shala Nourmamode is an international development specialist by profession and a visual storyteller at heart. With Indian and Malagasy roots and a French upbringing, her creative journey reflects a life of constant movement—across borders, disciplines, and identities. From a young age, Shala expressed herself through Bharatanatyam and Bollywood dance, grounding her in cultural tradition and the power of movement. Although her path eventually moved away from performance, it opened new doors for artistic exploration through fashion, sketching, and visual storytelling. Her creative voice sharpened behind the camera after a modeling stint in Cambodia led her to roles in fashion design and artistic direction. With every piece she creates, Shala seeks to answer a central question: How can we honor our heritage while continuing to evolve? Having called many places home, Shala sees identity not as a singular answer, but as a rich, layered experience. Her work delves into the nuance of belonging, merging ancestral craft with modern design to produce work that’s both grounded and transformative. This vision culminates in the launch of Majama—a brand born from a desire to celebrate tradition while embracing change. Through Majama, Shala blends heritage and contemporary aesthetics to craft bold, intentional fashion that reflects both where we come from and where we’re going.
Performing Arts & Choreography
From 2009 to 2012, Shala was a core member of the Bollywood Passion Dance Group in France, where she performed regularly at cultural festivals and community events. Her involvement with the group allowed her to explore the fusion of Bollywood and classical Indian dance styles, deepening her understanding of rhythm, gesture, and cultural storytelling through movement. This early experience laid the foundation for her later work as a choreographer and visual storyteller.
Jubilee Arts – National Selection, France (2018)
In 2018, Shala’s choreographic work was selected for the France national showcase of Jubilee Arts. Her performance, Silk Road – Building Bridges Through Dance, celebrated the cultural richness of the global Ismaili community. Inspired by the historic Silk Road as a metaphor for interconnection, the piece paid tribute to shared heritage and diversity across generations and geographies. Through a poetic fusion of Bharatanatyam mudras and modern movement, Shala expressed her own journey of embracing identity as a layered and evolving experience.
Artistic Direction & Cultural Expression
As an artist and artistic director, Shala crafts work that bridges tradition and innovation, weaving ancestral techniques with contemporary aesthetics. Her pieces often explore themes of belonging and reinvention, using bold visuals, color, and movement to reflect the multiplicity of her identity. Deeply rooted in her Indian and Malagasy heritage, Shala’s approach honors her origins while embracing global influences. Her creative philosophy is grounded in the belief that heritage is not something to conceal, but rather a source of strength and artistic inspiration.
Intercultural Storytelling through Movement
Movement lies at the heart of Shala’s storytelling. Drawing inspiration from the expressive power of gesture in both Bharatanatyam and Apsara dance, she uses choreography as a form of memory and resilience. Her work is influenced by artists like Auguste Rodin, who captured the grace of the Royal Cambodian Ballet in his early 20th-century sketches—an artistic legacy that continues to resonate in post-genocide Cambodia. In this spirit, Shala’s performances embody a living archive of culture, reclaiming and reinterpreting tradition through a contemporary lens.
Masterpieces by Shala Nourmamode
