PaperCity continues a series of profiles on the Philanthropy in Fashion Best Dressed honorees, Houston women who embrace the power of fashion and style by committing themselves to making the world a better place all the while dressing with style and grace. As designer Anne Klein notes: “Clothes aren’t going to change the world. The women who wear them will.”
Sneha Merchant’s commitment to philanthropy on many levels was nurtured in her native Mumbai, India, where her grandfather and the grandfather of her husband Nick Merchant, were among the founding fathers of Fidai Academy, a school for disadvantaged children.
Helping children has been at the forefront of her altruism as she serves on the Southwest board of UNICEF USA and on the international board of Fidai USA and for seven consecutive years she has co-chaired with Viet Hong the Operation Smile gala. Confirming her commitment to the latter, Sneha Merchant has traveled with the team to Guatemala to witness the life-changing surgeries.
Active in a broad spectrum of community leadership she has also chaired galas for the Houston Area Women’s Home (Una Notte in Italia), the Indian Film Festival, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, the Aga Khan Foundation, Asian American Family Services and the Asian Pacific American Heritage Foundation.
In addition, Sneha Merchant is a talented artist practicing in mixed media and recently added the creation of intricate and beautiful meditation mandalas to her repertoire.
Sneha Merchant’s Faves
Designers: Tom Ford, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Hermès Balmain, Indian designers Gaurav Gupta, Falguni Shane Peacock
Fragrance: Tom Ford, Ebene Fume, Gucci Oud
Favorite hotel in the world: Phulay Bay, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Thailand
Place that inspires: Cannes on the French Riviera
Guilty pleasure: Hermès handbags
Carbon footprint reduction: Driving a Tesla since 2013, Lomi home composter for kitchen scraps
Doing It Her Way
False eyelashes or mascara: Eyelash extensions
Pilates or yoga: Pilates five days a week
Sneakers or stilettos: Sneakers for day, four-inch stilettos for evening
Facial or massage: Facials
Jeans or joggers: Jeans
Feathers or fur: Fur
The PaperCity honorees were introduced in May, photographed in July by Ivan Aguirre with styling by Michelle Avina, and will be presented at the PaperCity Philanthropy in Fashion Best Dressed Luncheon and Neiman Marcus Fashion Presentation benefiting March of Dimes, sponsored by Children’s Memorial Hermann, on September 21 at the Post Oak Hotel. More information on the event can be found here.
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