There's a 'phiran' for every season

The fluid, anti-fit 'phiran' in trending colours and prints has gained new followers, while retaining its Kashmiri roots

- Nipa Charagi

Richa Dogra started her womenswear brand House of Moxa online during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, spurred by how Instagram was helping homegrown labels find and build an audience. Her personal style has always been about comfort first, and she would prefer to get her clothes tailored than buy them off the rack. This is reflected in the brand too, which has relaxed fits in jamdani, linen and cotton.

A silhouette that stands out is their jamdani phiran. "The cut suits that fabric. We call it a phiran kurta because it is worn like a kurta—phirans are typically worn over a garment—and has a slight A-line shape," says Thane-based Dogra, 38, who worked in an alcobev company for a decade, heading learning and development, before starting House of Moxa.

As a summer garment, phiran is ideal: it's fluid, easy to wear, has deep pockets and can be paired with a variety of pants.

People typically think of the phiran as a winter garment. But in Kashmir, chittae (printed) phiran with thread or tilla (silver/gold thread) embroidery is worn in summer, mostly by elderly Muslim women and in rural areas. The ankle-length cotton phiran worn by Kashmiri Pandit women fell out of use in the 1990s. Unlike the winter phiran, which is popular and has been donned by celebrities such as Diljit Dosanjh, Hina Khan and Kangana Ranaut, chittae phirans were considered old-fashioned even within the valley.

Over the last four-five years, with designers creating it in different fabrics and designs, the silhouette has found takers within and outside Kashmir.