Kasab zari revival: How designer Monica Shah is reimagining a vanishing Mughal craft

Last year, on a nondescript day, luxury fashion brand Jade by Monica and Karishma’s Monica Shah found herself admiring a jacket. It was among the global textile house Chanakya International’s extensive archive of over 10,000 historical textiles and more than 100,000 craft explorations. “The vintage jacket was one of the pieces Karishma and I collected during our travels across the world,” she says. The jacket, made from pure silver taar for an erstwhile child, was a remnant of the Mughal rule. This month marks 500 years from the First Battle of Panipat (1526), which led to the establishment of the Mughal reign under Babur in India. Shah says, “What I discovered was that the jacket had no base fabric!” It seemed like its silver shell was woven into the air itself. This led her on a sartorial adventure — tracing the history of the craft of kasab — only to realise that only a few master craftspeople who can execute this intricate embroidery technique exist today.

Originating in Persia, the precious metal-coated silk used in this fabric-less craft was introduced to India by the Mughal Empire in around the late 16th century. A form of zardozi work, kasab, kasav or kasab–zari uses fine gold, silver or copper-wrapped threads that are couched and stitched over itself with an Aari needle to create a brilliant effect. “Every time the design or motif takes a new direction,” explains Shah, “one has to apply a technique called madkan, simply put, an act of knotting the thread so it doesn’t come undone, which takes substantial expertise.” Every floral petal, or delicate paisley curve, is knotted and secured throughout to ensure it doesn’t fray over generations. “It’s like how the warp and weft hold each other; these knots create the skeleton since there is no base fabric to rely on.”