As animal rights activists become louder than ever about the slaughter of Chiru for Shahtoosh, the luxe shawl is in demand as ever but pricier and blended with other material as Shahtoosh becomes increasingly rare. Shawl connoisseurs weigh in on the great debate…

From the boudoirs of the Mughal dynasty to the sartorial highlight of the modern-day begum’s wardrobe, the Shahtoosh shawl has always been a highly coveted entity. The shawl – silken enough to slip through a single wedding band, commissioned by princes and kings as a novelty for their courts, titled ‘param naram’ by the Mughal Akbar for its softness, entrancing Napolean enough to make a gift of it to his future wife Josephine – is still the ultimate high-society fashion statement in many circles. Its literal meaning belies its royal pedigree: ‘Shah’ means king and ‘toosh’ means wool.

However, over the years, the Shahtoosh shawl’s imperial splendor has waned in the light of animal rights. The wool for the shawls is derived from the down hair of the endangered antelope Chiru, found around the Tibetan plateau and the Ladakh region of India. Originally, tufts of wool would be collected from the plants and rocks that the Chiru rubbed against and then woven into shawls. With the increase in demand, production was spurred on by simply slaughtering the Chiru and shaving off their under hair. As the Chiru population veered towards extinction, the Shahtoosh shawl was banned from being produced and sold. "Don’t wear death!" preached politician and animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi in the Indian Express in 1999.

"The Shahtoosh shawls I had purchased prior to the ban had to be declared to the Indian government and stamped," remembers designer Shamaeel Ansari who has an enviable collection of Shahtoosh. "This was to ensure that I would not be able to sell my shawls in the future and could only pass them on through inheritance."

Production, which was mainly carried out in Srinagar in India, came to a halt to the point that experts believe that true Shahtoosh is no longer being made. "When the ban was imposed, shawls were confiscated and traders were even imprisoned for continuing production," says shawl connoisseur Rehana ‘Chunni’ Saigol. "I think it would be fair to say that there is no pure Shahtoosh being produced in India today."

The trade today

And yet, Shahtoosh shawls continue to infiltrate the market. Much like the mink trade, there is still a long waiting list of buyers for the Shahtoosh who choose to ignore the ban. The demand – and the astronomical prices that people are willing to pay – has lead the regal Shahtoosh into the murky waters of copies and dubious blends. Exclusive suppliers sell Shahtoosh on a door-to-door basis to select clientele. The authenticity of the shawls they sell is debatable.

When a known designer joins the fray of Shahtoosh suppliers, it leads to a whole new debate. This winter, Nida Azwer brought out her ‘Toosh’ collection; a limited edition of 30 extensively hand-emboidered shawls priced between Rs 150,000 and Rs 500,000. "This is the purest form of Shahtoosh I could find," she claims. "I have obtained it from a Kashmir-based shawl supplier that my family has been dealing with for the past 40 years. The breakdown of the shawls is 80 per cent Toosh and 20 per cent Pashmina."

Pashmina is rabbit hair for the uninformed

Contrarily, though, there are experts who believe that even Shahtoosh blends do not exist. "It’s why so many people resort to using the word ‘Toosh’," explains art collector Hameed Haroon. "Toosh doesn’t mean anything and it’s appropriate since these shawls simply can’t be pure Shatoosh."

Co-author of the book ‘Kashmiri Shawl: from Jamawar to Paisley’ and Ex-Pakistani Ambassador to the United States, Sherry Rehman elaborates, "I visited Srinagar in Kashmir as part of my research. The shawl simply isn’t being made anymore. The only true Shahtoosh shawls in existence are the ones we inherited from our mothers and grandmothers."

Then what is the new range of so-called Shahtoosh made of? "Rabbit hair," informs Sherry. "Rabbit farms in Haryana in India provide the soft wool for the modern-day Shahtoosh fakes. The shawls do try to emulate the originals to the tee – they are loomed in the Chasm-e-Bulbul weave that was once distinctive to Shahtoosh. People who don’t know better end up paying astronomical prices for these shawls. They are extremely fine and soft but they get ruined very quickly unlike the original Shahtoosh which is a veritable heirloom."

"As it is, I feel that many people desire Shahtoosh simply because they consider it a status symbol. In the Mughal courts, Shahtoosh was commissioned by kings but it was never the most coveted shawl – that honor was reserved for the hand-woven jamawar and embroidered specialties," says Sherry.

The shawl, of course, has its enthusiasts. "It’s incredibly warm," says Chunni Saigol. "I could wear it in snow and not feel cold. A Shahtoosh shawl is often as long as seven yards – it’s one of the reasons why it’s favored by so many men – but it is so light that it can easily be wrapped around the body."

Embroidering complexities

"Shahtoosh is so soft that it can’t be easily embroidered," says couturier Bunto Kazmi. "I remember a client asked me to embroider her Shahtoosh shawl and my embroiderer from Kashmir simply refused. He said that it needed specialized tools. It couldn’t be stretched out on a frame and embroidered like any typical fabric."

For designer Nida Azwer, it was a learning experience to embroider her special blend of Shahtoosh. "I ended up tearing three shawls before I managed to master the technique," she reveals. "The embroideries are in delicate kacha resham and each shawl took about six months to create."

Florals, musical instruments, hunting scenes, vintage cars and miniature Mughals flit about on Nida’s very distinctive canvas, which may not be pure Shahtoosh at all but is certainly very beautiful. "The shawls certainly have a distinctive designer element to them," says philanthropist and socialite Ronak Lakhani. "Nida’s embroideries are exquisite and a tribute to the brilliant craftwork that exists in Pakistan. As a buyer and collector of shawls, I feel that they are completely worth their prices. The shawls are warm and soft although they may be Shahtoosh blends."

Whether the shawls – Nida’s or the other contenders in the market – truly are Shahtoosh blends, though, is doubtful. Bunto Kazmi points out, "Hand embroideries are gorgeous and even if a shawl is not a Shahtoosh, they make an ensemble unique. However, when a designer brings out a certain kind of shawl, it is important to research upon it beforehand and lead customers to the right direction."