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Cash in on cashmere

Pashma Boutique at The Leela Galleria is the ideal solution to warm up winter evenings

GRAB A THROW This multicolour block printed kashgar is guaranteed to heat up winters

There used to be time when a chill in the air meant saying goodbye to dressing up as everything would be enveloped in a cardigan, shawl or jumper. Slobs, however, welcomed winter as the time when one could virtuously do away with baths and blithely wear crumpled shirts and kurtas under that tent of a jacket.

Now things have changed and winter wear has become so trendy that you wish it would be cold forever! Okay, that is a bit extreme, but you get the picture. So when the high-fashion house, ffolio, launched the exquisite luxury cashmere fashion brand Pashma at The Leela Galleria it was yet another reason to welcome winter. After a solid presence internationally — Le Bon Marche (Paris), Bloomingdales (New York) and Takashimaya & Mitsukoshi (Japan) — and at duty-free stores around the world, Pashma has set up shop in Bangalore, the first in the south and only the second outlet in country.

Debut at Milan

The brainchild of Shilu Kumar, Pashma made a triumphant debut at Milan eight years ago and there has been no looking back since. Shilu insists: "We have no products, but each creation is an aesthetic joy." And looking around at the store, one cannot but agree. The store, designed by Nisha Mathew and Soumitro Ghosh provides a picture perfect backdrop for all the luscious woolly goodies.

Of the name, Pashma, Shilu explains it comes from Pashmina, from which cashmere is derived. The fibre, from the underbelly of the pashm goat which hangs out high in the Himalayas, is super fine — six times finer than human hair. With the temperatures being sub-Siberian, it goes without saying the fibre is very warm. And there is no need to feel guilty about cashmere, as it is the fibres that are caught on thorny bushes and rocks that collected and spun into the divine shawl.

Accessories can make or break an outfit. But if you throw on a Pashma wrap, scarf, shawl or foulard you can be positive of earning brownie points from style gurus. From block prints and silk-screen motifs to delicately modern embroidery and even a knitted boa, the line (Rs.1,000 to Rs.40,000) is versatile and would suit both day and evening wear.

Ready-to-wear line

The ready-to-wear line features cardigans, jumpers and tops in cashmere, silk cashmere and silk. Priced between Rs.3,500 and Rs.16,000, the collection has the classic cables, dainty pointelles and filigree look. The paisley motif harks back to the root of the yarn: of graceful mountains with soaring peaks kissing the clouds.

There is also the classic range — a collection of un-dyed natural cashmere.

And then if you would like to go the whole hog, Pashma has some divine home accessories with sofa throws, cushion covers, blankets and knee warmers priced between Rs.5,000 and Rs.30,000. Lounge lizards and couch potatoes can get ready to party!

The design inspirations come from diverse sources including classic European baroque art, Indonesian batik and Japanese haiku. The design studio in Milan gives an international spin to the fabric made of the finest counts of yarn woven on handlooms by weavers. A jolly marriage of the classic and contemporary.

While royalty like Queen Victoria and Josephine Bonaparte could throw cashmere over their regal shoulders, our chance at nobility comes thanks to Pashma at C-17 & C-18, Level 2, The Leela Galleria, Hotel Leela Palace, Airport Road, Ph: 41150789

MINI ANTHIKAD-CHHIBBER

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