Designers Meesha and Trisha Khanna, who participated in the Paris fashion week, say that India has a long cherished tradition of accessorising ensembles with scarves and shawls and they plan to give this trend a contemporary look.

“India – a country which has given the world the Jamawar and the Pashmina shawl, among countless others – has a long-cherished tradition of accessorising ensembles with scarves and shawls and these are certainly not new trends or fashion statements we are seeing in recent years,” designer Meesha Khanna told IANS.

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Added Trisha Khanna: “Having said that, at Meesha, our approach tends to be more contemporary. Our aim is to take the scarf from being an heirloom piece that should be brought out only for special occasions, to an accessory for the fashion enthusiast that should be worn and enjoyed whenever possible.

“We choose our fabrics meticulously, understand the handloom process and collaborate with weavers who work with the finest natural wool and cotton sourced from the rich abundance of the Indian heartland.”

The designer duo, who participated in fashion weeks in Paris, feel that “In India, the main challenges that we face are a limited know-how of and access to factories that are aligned with global environment and sustainability standards.”

“Also, since scarves are considered to be everyday accessories abroad, the market there is a lot more established than it is here in India,” said Meesha.

This season, Meesha Scarf has derived its inspiration from the art of dance for its new Autumn-Winter 2017 collection of scarves and accessories. Be it the pirouette of the ballerina, the fiery tango dancer, or the rhythmic vigour of the Masai tribe, the new collection showcases cultural diversity with flair.

The fabrics for this new collection are made of the purest merino wool to create the “Veil of Merinos”, Fine cashmere from Nepal and wool from Kashmir have been woven together to create the “Solid Heart” line, dyed in natural colours.

Talking about expansion plans, Trisha said: “We currently distribute two collections a year, they are shown during Paris fashion week to buyers who are attending from various stores globally.

“While this has enabled us to gain a strong foothold in Europe, we feel we need to now move our focus to Asia and concentrate on markets like China, Japan and South Korea.”