Preserving Culture & Celebrating Art: Pasha Fabrics Homage To Malmal

The world we live in is cacophonous. We awaken to cacophonous sounds blaring from our phones; gauze our minds with sound-bites of world affairs, try-on hauls, and wellness strategies before we’ve even made it out of bed, indulging in trailers of other people’s lives in the car and cutting our teeth on technicolor billboards on our commute to work. We cannot exist without consuming – and so we often find ourselves asking, is there any point in slowing down, taking time to reflect, to prioritize, and to most importantly cherish? How can we slice through the noise and discern which voices are truly calling to us, and which are speaking like a recording on loop? Pasha Fabrics is a brand that identifies itself as artist before salesmen, and it is because their craft is centered around historicity, cultural preservation, and the ultimate reverence for the quality and grandeur of a bygone era. Pasha has spent over five decades researching and perfecting the highest grade of raw materials to elevate their final product: luxury fabrics. Their latest collection has just been launched at an exquisitely curated private event attended by icons like Azim Raza, Safinaz Muneer, Noor Jehan Bilgrami, and Frieha Altaf. The collection is available in stores from 5th June – visit their store at Uzma Court, Schon Circle, Block 8 Clifton, Karachi now for a chance to see their immaculate fabric in person!

Malmal or Muslin is synonymous with South Asia, and yet it is a mystifying fabric with a romantic history. The unparalleled quality and craftsmanship of traditional muslin was meant to be so delicate that it was described as akin to vapors of air, or braiding rays of light. The fabric was so infamous for its ethereal texture that it was reserved for royal use only – Emperor Jahangir once remarked in his memoirs that the “robes of muslin were so fine that they could pass through a ring.” 

We cannot even begin to grasp the cloud-like softness of authentic malmal, considering many of the various practices and craftsmanship around its creation were unfortunately destroyed or suppressed under British rule. The muslin we have today is airy and thin, but of an ultimately coarser finish. True to their promise, Pasha has dedicated itself to researching these lost practices in order to elevate the royal textile to its former glory. The definition of luxury is an item or experience that cannot be replicated elsewhere. Pasha Fabrics has epitomized luxury by creating a muslin fabric that is superior to its sibling variants. Zargar, their newest launch, is a collection of classical muslin fabrics which hope to reawaken the ancient culture behind this delicate weave. This collection puts on display the refined skills of local master craftsmen who have utilised state of the art looms and the latest technology to recreate the malmal of the Mughals. This muslin uses 215 double count cotton fiber (high quality, designer fabric requires around 180 count cotton fiber) — and the finished fabric is hand-embroidered with three ply thread to give maximum relief to the designs. We’re beyond excited to experience the world-class fabrics brought to us by Pasha, a brand which continues to revive our own cultural traditions with unparalleled respect.