What: The showcasing of the latest collection of shawls and looms by Janavi and haute couture by Patine, hosted by Shivika Goenka 
Where: The Loft, 6th floor, Quest
When: January 10-11; 11am-7pm

For Jyotika Jhalani, cashmere is all about “warmth and the feel”. “When you touch cashmere, you just get transported to heaven. It’s so fluffy! There is a sense of belonging and perfection,” says the founder of the Noida-based label Janavi, where cashmere becomes art. Think embroidery and lace work on shawls, stoles, scarves, home accessories and more. We caught up with Jyotika ahead of her showing at The Loft, a multi-utility space on the sixth floor of Quest. 

How was Janavi born?

The label is 20 years old. I started this company out of my son’s bedroom. I wanted to make the ‘made in India’ label really available to people internationally. We wanted to do the best and supply to a lot of international brands. That is how the first part of our journey was… working with all the top international couture houses and doing their collection and in the past 10 years, we’ve really been concentrating on our own brand, which is Janavi. We sell in about 200 stores worldwide, like Bergdorf Goodman and Harvey Nichols… we have opened our new store in Delhi at the Chanakya mall. Our brand is now called Janavi India, so there is a slightly greater emphasis on ‘made in India’. It’s done in a way so that people can have them as heirlooms. We are really excited about being in Calcutta. 

Why did you choose cashmere?

I am from Kashmir. I spent 10 years at The World Bank. After leaving my job because of a head injury, I decided to do something that I was passionate about. I love shawls and I wanted to do something of a high quality. That’s why cashmere… to me, it is the most luxurious of fibres. We get our yarn from inner Mongolia. They are DNA-tested. It’s very difficult to tell wool from cashmere. 

What were the challenges initially?

I always knew what the quality was. If you know where the yarn is coming from and you can control that, then there is no challenge. Of course weaving cashmere is not easy. So, we had to set up good quality looms where we could weave our own cashmere. It’s a vertical unit… we do everything in-house… we weave our shawls, we do our dyeing and make sure all the embroideries are done. 

Was it difficult to find craftspeople to execute your vision?

There is a huge wealth of very good karigars in India, but to sit them down and train them into an aesthetic which was different from the one they were used to doing was initially challenging. It has, however, been such an amazing journey that every day I would discover something new. I decided not to keep any designers because I didn’t want to have any restrictions for the artisans. We would put the shawls on the framework and I would literally say that this is your canvas. That’s how the whole journey became so much more exciting. I am influenced by nature around me.  

What’s new from Janavi?

We are launching our cushions, blankets and we also just launched our baby range. There are little cashmere toys, throws and blankets. 

What are you getting to The Loft?

We’ll have our range of shawls, our blankets both in cashmere and cotton, our baby range and also a lovely range for men, which is our men’s jackets.     

We are excited to welcome Patine and Janavi pop-up to Quest. We think this is the best time to have them in the city because it is the winter season and festive too.

Patine is coming to Calcutta for the first time. It is a heritage revivalist label that has made a mark for its chikankari and Parsi gara work. They have clothes for all seasons and all occasions, be it festive or everyday wear, party wear or smart casuals.

For the Loft pop-up, they are bringing unique ready-to-wear collections. They all make a bold fashion statement.
Janavi is the perfect pop-up for this time of the year because they are one of the premier manufacturers of luxury cashmere products. Now that the winter chill is finally settling in, Janavi’s apparel and home collection would surely have many takers — Shivika Goenka, vice-president, special projects, Quest

Shon Randhawa, co-founder and creative director of the Delhi-based Patine, on their first showing in Calcutta, the journey which she calls a “learning curve” and the importance of making heritage art a part of your daily life.   

What is the story behind ‘Patine’?

The brand is over 10 years old. The label is about the revival of heritage craft and embroidery… pushing the envelope forward. ‘Patine’ stands for the sheen pure copper alloy gets when it ages. We hope our clothes, when they get old, can have the same sheen which copper gets. Over time, we want our clothes to be the future antiques. We are looking forward to the next 10 years.

What is the ethos of the brand?

We believe that people don’t wear a brand head to toe. We also believe that you have to put the heritage embroidery into your daily wardrobe. Try and translate them in a way so that you can wear them every day and not just for weddings. Otherwise these arts and crafts will die. They need patronage, versatility and they need to be relevant in today’s lifestyle. We do a lot of chikankari, gara embroidery, zardozi, kamdani, zari marori work, resham mochi ka kaam, kantha, soof embroidery.... One of Patine’s signature is to layer different embroidery traditions on a single garment. Our cuts are also something with a twist. 

I think we should respect our artisans as we respect our doctors. Once we bring back the halo, their children will want to carry the mantle forward. 

You have something to suit every woman… 

You can wear it across generations. The work is refined and evolved. You have to make it versatile. Only when it meets a woman’s lifestyle will it spread. 

What are you showing at the pop-up?

We are getting a wide variety — from chikankari tunics and tops for day-to-day wear to evening dresses, churidar kurtas, saris, gara tops, tunics, our Mughal jackets, lehngas and embroidered skirts. 

Text: Saionee Chakraborty