Mashru was developed under Shar’ia law to allow Muslim men to exercise some agency within a rigid sartorial system that equated the usage of silk with luxury. The textile allowed wearers the external shine of silk, while its cotton backing made it permissible to wear. Mashru arrived in India through the Silk Route, brought to the subcontinent during the 16th century from the Ottoman empire. The craft became centred in three clusters: Gujarat, the Deccan and Benares.
Gujarat was the first weaving centre for Mashru in India. Bold stripes and dotted patterns with a similarity to Syrian and Turkish Mashru characterized Gujarati Mashru. The Mashru woven in the Deccan was known for its Ikat patterns. The craft thrived on royal patronage but suffered a loss of demand with the fall of Indian rulers and the establishment of the British Empire.
Today, most historical versions of Mashru can be found in the royal collection of the City Palace at Jaipur, and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. The first book on Mashru by Raw Mango was dedicated to Suraiya Hassan Bose (1928-2021) whose enthusiasm inspired our developments on Mashru Ikat.
A complex weave combining two types of fibers, the word Mashru is derived from ‘mishrit’ meaning ‘mixed’. Yarn is woven and manipulated to create two distinct ‘faces’ for a fabric, each hosting a higher density of fibers corresponding to a single type.
For example: a silk-cotton Mashru weave could be composed of a lustrous, silky external ‘face’ and a breathable, cotton ‘back’. The Mashru weave can be applied to any number of two-fiber combinations in the pursuit of differing textures and drapes.
At Raw Mango, the idea of working with Mashru materialized in 2010, after coming across a heavy satin fabric called ‘Gyaser’, made for Tibetan monks in Benares. Regular silk is a plain weave whereas Gyaser is a densely woven heavy satin. Its base fabric is very similar to Mashru and led to the re-exploring of weaving Mashru in Benaras, which had been discontinued for decades.
When we began, there were barely any weavers left in two of Mashru’s largest clusters—Deccan and Benares. We worked with weavers in Benaras to create the first mashru sari, thus increasing the loom width to 46” from the original 28”. The fabric, up until this point, had only been used for men’s clothing and decorative furnishing. In 2023, we created the first sari in Mashru Ikat with a few weavers from the Deccan cluster.
Further, the fabric was traditionally only composed of silk and cotton. Raw Mango’s design interventions have involved weaving combinations of silk with wool, khadi, zari and different forms of silk itself. Our design process has opened the possibility of creating new patterns, drapes and textures in Mashru.
