Legacy

Beauty. Elegance. Softness. Warmth.

Connoisseurs cherish it; celebrities never have enough of it; and the world of high fashion goes wow over its beauty & elegance, warmth & softness. Rightfully so, as the most gorgeous ensembles are hand-crafted from the royal fibre called cashmere/pashmina to delight your senses. The historical yarn is equally impressive – full of dramatic turns and colourful twists till the Indian pashmina warmed & captivated all hearts.

The Ancient Glory

Derived from the Persian word pashm (wool), pashmina shawls are hand-woven from finest-quality cashmere wool harvested from the downy undercoat of the Himalayan mountain goats (Capra hircus). Besides India, the major producers of cashmere are China, Mongolia, Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey. Although woollen shawls were mentioned as early as the third century BC, pashmina-making truly flourished under Emperor Zayn-ul-Abidin, a 15th-century ruler of Kashmir. A great patron of art & crafts, he had brought master weavers from Turkmenistan to Kashmir Valley and pashmina masterpieces came into being – hand-spun, hand-woven and exquisitely embroidered. The unique pashmina weave of finest cashmere & silk retained its pride of place during the Mughal Empire and adorned the Royal Courts of the Indian sub-continent. Emperor was a keen collector of Kashmiri shawls, hence the rich and the elite across the country followed suit. The immense popularity of the luxurious fabric among the Royalties and the Nobles soon helped establish a flourishing cottage industry in the Valley of Kashmir.