SANJAY GARG FESTIVE | 2015

The word ‘Mashru’ comes from the

Arabic word ‘shari a’ that means

“permitted by Islamic law.” Mashru

was developed around the sixteenth

century to allow Muslim men to

exercise some agency within a rigid

sartorial system that prohibited luxury

in their lifestyles; in this system, silk

was equated with leisure and decadence.

Not quite silk, and not quite not, Mashru

was a brilliant, highly skilled invention

that presented a blurring of binaries in

being both silk and cotton. The warp faced

satin weave allowed silk to be visible on the

surface, giving the fabric its desired shine.

Mashru broke a rule within a system, and

emerged as a legally ‘permitted’ fabric for

men to wear. Mashru came to India through

the silk route. It was originally woven in three

parts of India: Gujarat, The Deccan and

Uttar Pradesh. The colour palettes used to

weave Mashru were mostly bright, often striped,

and the textile was commonly dotted with motifs.

One type of Mashru even used ikat. Despite its

versatility, Mashru showed its deep Ottoman

and Mughal influences.

 

Photographed by: Prarthna Singh

 

MESTAN PAJAMA

JAHANZEB JACKET, MEHZUN PAJAMA

RUQAIYA OVERCOAT, DO KALI ABHA (L), MAHAM SKIRT (R)

REHMAT JACKET, MEHZUN PAJAMA

JAHANARA LEHENGA, NADIRA TOP, ERINA DUPATTA

CHE KALI OYA ABH, MEHZUN PAJAMA, LEYLA DUPATTA

JANA DRESS, MEHZUN PAJAMA

ZINAT ABHA, MESTAN PAJAMA (L), NERGIS PHIRAN, PADSHAH PAJAMA (R)

SAHIBA JACKET, OZAN DRESS, RANA PAJAMA

SULTANA ABHA, MALIKA PAJAMA

GULCHEHRA LEHENGA, MELIHA TOP, NADIDE ODHNI

NORIYE ABHA, MEHZUN PAJAMA, ERINA DUPATTA

NORIYE ABHA, MEHZUN PAJAMA, ERINA DUPATTA

SELMA KURTA, OYA PAJAMA, JAHANZEB DUPATTA

KHAN ZADA LEHENGA, ZAINA TOP, ERINA DUPATTA

BARKHA ABHA, MESTAN PAJAMA

SALIMA ABHA, QUSIA PAJAMA

SABIHA OVERCOAT, HAMIDA BANU SKIRT, ZINAT TOP

AAMIRA JACKET, ABIDA KURTA, MEHZUN PAJAMA

MUBARKA JACKET, HANA KURTA, ABIDA PAJAMA

BARKHA DUPATTA

HAFEEZA KURTA, GOYALI SKIRT

FAUZIA DRESS, JAHAN PAJAMA

JAHIDA, MEHZUN PAJAMA (L), SAMAH, INAYAH PAJAMA (R)

REYHANA LEHENGA, SABINA TOP, ERINA DUPATTA

DO KHALI FAHIMA ABHA, FADYAA PAJAMA, ERINA DUPATTA (L)

FARIA ABHA, GHAYDA PAJMA

SANA ABHA, MEHZUN PAJAMA, REHAM DUPATTA

SULTANAH SARI, GULBANU TOP

NASREEN SARI, IMANI TOP