Woven Dreams

A special edition of scarves made by women artisans in Kashmir for Jil Sander becomes a medium and metaphor to connect people, communities, ideas, a shared vision of empowerment and a different future. 

- PHYLLIDA JAY

A LIGHTBULB MOMENT occurred when Narmada Ramakrishna met Abnit Nijjar, who has been Jil Sander’s womenswear design director since 2018, supporting the vision of Lucie and Luke Meier, creative directors at Jil Sander.

Milan-based Nijjar is responsible for the womenswear runway as well as the pre and Jil Sander+ collections. Ramakrishna has spent the last eight years passionately following a dream, working with women’s craft collectives in Kashmir, producing scarves for her cashmere scarf label Pink Maharani, based in Geneva.

Jil Sander’s sartorial magic lies in the beauty of textiles, originating in its founder’s background in textile design and a vision of womenswear based on distinctive rigour and understated luxury. The husband-wife creative director duo lead an acclaimed reinvigoration of the label, emphasising purity rather than cliched ideas of minimalism. “Beauty needs emotion but also a pragmatic approach. The value of craft, the correct use of natural resources and the awareness of the profound interdependence between us and nature are fundamental to our future,” reflects Lucie on the brand’s recent collaboration with Pink Maharani on a series of hand-embroidered cashmere scarves. “This line of thought guides all our choices regarding materials, the suppliers we work with and the artisans who collaborate with us,” she adds.