 A portrait of Empress Joséphine wearing a Kashmir shawl and a gown made of Kashmir shawl fabric | |
| Type | Shawl |
|---|---|
| Material | Wool (shahtoosh, pashmina) |
| Place of origin | Kashmir |
The Kashmir shawl, the predecessor of the contemporary cashmere shawl, is a type of shawl identified by its distinctive Kashmiri weave and for being made of fine shahtoosh or pashmina wool. Contemporary variants include the pashmina and shahtoosh shawls (often mononymously referred to simply as the pashmina and shahtoosh). In the late 20th century, they evolved to middle-class popularity through generic cashmere products (rather than the higher-grade pashmina), and raffal, shawls woven in the Kashmiri style, but using thicker Merino wool. Originally designed as a covering for men in India, it has evolved in the popular cultures of India, Europe, and the United States as indicators of nobility and rank, heirlooms giving on a girl's coming-of-age and marriage, and subsequently, as artistic elements in interior design.
Valued for its warmth, light weight and characteristic buta design, the Kashmir shawl trade inspired the global cashmere industry. The shawl evolved into its high-grade, sartorial use in the 13th century and was used in the 16th century by Mughal and Iranian emperors, both personally and for honouring members of their durbar. In the late 18th century, it arrived in Britain, and then in France, where its use by Queen Victoria and Empress Joséphine popularised it as a symbol of exotic luxury and status. The Kashmir shawl has since become a toponym for the Kashmir region itself (cashmere, named after Kashmir), inspiring mass-produced imitation industries in India and Europe, and popularising the buta motif, today known as the Paisley motif after the factories in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland that sought to replicate it.