By Evie Brett
Though the birth of the paisley pattern dates back as far as the first millennium AD, the famous teardrop-shaped design is still very much used and enjoyed today within both clothing and art more generally. Also known as the boteh or buta, the motif was first developed during the Sassanid dynasty, having been believed to symbolise life and eternity in Iranian culture. It was later used in the Safavid dynasty of Persia and continued to be a major pattern used in the textile industries during the Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties. Though its use is certainly widespread, what exactly the paisley represents has been open to many interpretations. Whether it be a stylised floral spray, a cypress tree, or even a mango, what can be agreed is that the paisley makes a beautiful addition to any garment.
In the 1400s, the textile design was transported from Persia to Kashmir, a region in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, and in the same century, some of the earliest Kashmir shawls were produced in India. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the British East India Company introduced Kashmir shawls to England and Scotland, and it was the Scottish town of Paisley itself that gave the pattern its British name. Paisley became the centre for the production of the textile, reproducing the pattern using its jacquard looms. The looms themselves weaved according to patterned punch cards, whereby each row of holes correspond to the rows of stitches in the pattern. Where a hole was present in the card, the needle was able to pass straight through to lift up the warp threads and create the design.
In more recent history, the paisley design became a symbol of the psychedelic rock’n’roll movement in the 1960s and 1970s, representing a key part of counterculture, a statement of non-conformity, and a search for life’s meaning more widely. The print’s blossoming swirls aimed to capture the third-eye – a concept representing intuition and insight – as a way to connect those wearing the design with the universe around them. The hippy belief system of this age aimed to share and extend free love regardless of race and religion and, as such, the freedom to explore and express oneself made way for some of the most radical art and music in modern history. Indeed, John Lennon even painted his Rolls-Royce with an interpretation of the pattern in 1967.
Today, Conscious Apparel continues to hark back to the history of the paisley pattern in its collection of woven wool jackets and cotton dresses. The paisley’s rich symbolism and rebellious aura seems to have kept it alive throughout history, and its openness to reinvigoration and reinterpretation has allowed its beauty to stand the test of time.
