Last year, on a nondescript day, luxury fashion brand Jade by Monica and Karishma’s Monica Shah found herself admiring a jacket. It was among the global textile house Chanakya International’s extensive archive of over 10,000 historical textiles and more than 100,000 craft explorations. “The vintage jacket was one of the pieces Karishma and I collected during our travels across the world,” she says. The jacket, made from pure silver taar for an erstwhile child, was a remnant of the Mughal rule. This month marks 500 years from the First Battle of Panipat (1526), which led to the establishment of the Mughal reign under Babur in India. Shah says, “What I discovered was that the jacket had no base fabric!” It seemed like its silver shell was woven into the air itself. This led her on a sartorial adventure — tracing the history of the craft of kasab — only to realise that only a few master craftspeople who can execute this intricate embroidery technique exist today.
Monica Shah (right) and Karishma Swalli of JadeByMK.
| Photo Credit:
Special arrangement
Monica Shah (left) working with master craftspeople on design patterns.
