Pashmina Shawls - Why Handicraft is Luxurious?

The brilliance of handmade articles deserves celebration. From being just handmade to now being a luxury, handmade has come all the way. Pashmina shawls are an example of such heritage handicraft wraps that have grown to be an epitome of luxury.

Embroidered classics, minimal solids, extravagant Kani shawls, or contemporary prints, aren't just names of Pashmina shawls, but masterpieces from the most proficient hands. We, hence, celebrate these artistic weaves of the art, as it provides a platform to build an everlasting relationship between the makers and takers. But, to start with, do we really know what Pashmina shawls are?

What is Pashmina Shawl?

From times immemorial, Pashmina shawls have a history of spellbinding even the most choosy of women and men alike. Be it royals, from whom the trend of wearing Pashmina shawls began, to commoners who followed them in styling and fashion, Pashmina held the same reverence and adoration. Whether the warmth these shawls provide, or the way they are handcrafted, everything about Pashmina shawls was, and still is, simply incredible. Let us uncover the facts about these luxury accessories.

Pashmina shawls are timeless, handcrafted wraps that come from the valley of Kashmir. These are crafted out of the finest Ladakhi Cashmere wool that grows as an undercoat for Ladakhi Capra Hircus goats. In the month of March, during their moulting period, the goats lose this super fine and soft fleece, and herders collect it for use. This is cleaned and processed to make Pashmina shawls. These luxury shawls are exceptional in every way. Be it the warmth that they provide, the super lightweight they have, the immense finesse, or the heavenly softness, Pashmina has it all. For this reason, Pashmina shawls have a humongous demand all over the world, as they surpass all competition in the world. 

The creativity of Handcrafted Pashmina shawls

What makes handcrafted Pashmina shawls a luxury? Out of all the factors, we consider the time taken to craft these shawls the main factor which makes them luxurious. Handcrafting these shawls takes great amounts of time, besides putting into action endangered indigenous skills. The time taken to create Pashmina shawls shows the amount of love and care that the artisan puts into each piece for making it the best its owner can have. Isn't the process of making something special always slow? Because whatever we see in large quantities is always made in the least amount of time. Production of cheap articles is large and more frequent. Pashmina shawls, on the other hand, take years to complete, and hence you can't even find two similar shawls. All shawls are unique, rare, and majestic in their own way. 

Another factor that makes handcrafted luxury is the work that artisans do. Artisanal work makes these shawls original and special. Not because Pashmina shawls are hard to find, but the high skill employed in making them also takes time. Artisans do not just put their precious time into making Pashmina shawls, but also a lot of patience, love, and honesty for the work. Pashmina shawls are, hence, infused with the emotions of these conscientious artisans, who put everything at stake just to make these pieces perfect for us, their admirers. The finesse, the intricate designs, besides the love put into them distinguishes Pashmina shawls from any machine-made product in the world.

It is their hard work, painstaking efforts, and accuracy and attention that makes Pashmina shawls a true luxury to have. It is perhaps for this reason that it is artisans who abhor machine-made products as they know how immensely distinctive and exceptional a handmade product is!

Time Taken for Handmade Shawls

While it takes a few minutes to make a machine-made shawl, Pashmina takes years and years to complete. The solid scarves and wraps take a few days, but elaborate designs take much time. The Kani pashmina shawls from Kashmir, in a Jamawar pattern, take up to 5 years. Similarly, hand-embroidered shawls in the Jamawar pattern take 4 to 5 years to complete. The artisans have also decreased much due to the lessening popularity of handmade shawls, and hence the production remains low. This is how handicrafts become luxury - when they are scarce! And even though it has always been a matter of pride to be able to weave Pashmina shawls, shouldn't the labor, materials, and efforts that go into making it reap financial benefits. That hardly happens. Especially since the advent of power looms

Fake Shawls in Kashmir

In the early 2000s, the advent of power looms changed the whole story for Pashmina shawls. Artisans, who were the most revered community, suddenly lost all worth, as did their artwork. It was all due to the introduction of power looms. A power loom, contrary to the handloom, produced shawls in less time. Thus the plain shawls, which artisans wove in 3 to 4 days, power looms produced in minutes. The issue with power looms is, however, not the speed, but the purity of Pashmina shawls. 

Cashmere, from which Pashmina shawls are crafted, is a delicate fibre. It is even prime to damage during manual processing. How could it bear the strain of the machine then? It was found that the owners of the power loom mixed strengthening fibres with Cashmere, such as nylon, and silk, to make them pass through the machine. Later, when the shawl was ready, it was treated with a chemical to dissolve the strengthening threads. This made the Pashmina shawls lifeless, and their quality reduced to “poor”. These shawls were no longer heirlooms and lasted for a few years. Simultaneously, the original artisans lost hopes of Pashmina making and switched to other jobs. This made the art suffer. 

Also read: PASHMINA SHAWL: TESTIMONY OF THE TRAVELERS

Revival of the Art

If there were antagonists, there were patrons too. In recent times, a large number of art admirers have stood up for the art of Pashmina. They argued that machine-made Pashmina shawls should not even be considered a product of Pashmina art. It is they who began to get in touch with the original artisans of the art again and invited them to handcraft the Pashmina shawl as they did before. The process restarted and this led to the revival of pure shawls from Kashmir. Nowadays, hand-spun and hand-woven shawls come under the Geographical Indication and are called GI Shawls. These are the purest Pashmina shawls, handcrafted by artisans, slowly yet exquisitely. The Geographical Indication was perhaps the biggest gift given to the original artisans to show what the actual art of Pashmina is. And what they produced left the onlookers dazed.

Also read: 15 BOLLYWOOD CELEBRITIES WHO ROCKED THEIR LOOKS WITH A PASHMINA SHAWL

Celebrating artisanal effort. 

We are happy to assert that we at Pashmina.com, too, are one of the few patrons of the original art of Pashmina shawl making. We celebrate the revival of the art and its artisans by offering the original, certified, and pure Pashmina shawls from Kashmir. These are handcrafted by artisans from the finest Ladakhi Cashmere, superior in quality, and unadulterated. We empower and encourage artisans to work more, and in fact encourage the younger generation too, to opt for Pashmina shawl-making skills. 

Pashmina shawls are a luxury to have. But if most European and non-local customers will have this luxury, how can locals benefit from it. How can locals realize the value of this vintage artwork, when they do not invest their time and efforts into learning or promoting it. We have to be the actual connoisseurs of this art form before it succumbs to modern fast fashion trends. It's time we let go of runway trends and embrace our own traditions. We have to ensure our artisans as well as their art survives. We have to ensure no one calls them ordinary laborers, but super-skilled artists of the most luxurious art form in the world.

Also read: KASHMIRI SHAWLS IN MID-VICTORIAN NOVELS