In the saffron swaying fields of a small village called Chandrahar in Kashmir in the 16th century, Habba Khatoon found her poetic being. Moldering in the separation from her abusive husband and in-laws she maundered through the state venting her anger though sorrowful lyrics.
Centuries later, she continues to captivate those who read her. Fashion designer Nandita Thirani is one of them. Zoon, her new collection, is dedicated to this Nightingale from Kashmir. She brought out the essence of the state through her painful, but deeply insightful poetry.
“I relived Kashmir through her poetry and wanted to share my happiness in doing so by dedicating my new collection to it,” says Thirani, It was 20 years ago when she first visited its beautiful mountainous landscape. Memories were refreshed last year when she went again. “Not much had changed, and I wanted to capture the essence of its unchanged beauty. To develop the concept further and understand what Kashmir stood for, I read Habba Khatoon’s works and fell in love with her,” says Thirani.
The collection took four months to develop post-conceptualisation. The karigars were instructed to explore floral embroideries and colours similar to the valley of paradise. Just like Khatoon’s poetry that revolved around her changing moods in accordance with the changing seasons, Thirani too used different contrasts in different outfits, all depending on what she felt like at the moment of execution.
“We’ve used 15 colours. That’s the maximum we’ve used in one collection. Zardozi embroidery work with anchor threads have been used to craft motifs such as paisleys and flowers that I saw during my visit to Kashmir. We’ve included backless gowns and overlayed skirts that symbolise Zoon’s bold character,” she says.