Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label shopping. Show all posts

Sunday, February 17, 2013

pashma.

A leading global retailer in luxury linen, cashmere and silk resortwear and the first (in the whole world!) to print on cashmere, Pashma has grown exponentially since it's inception in 1998 by design extraordinaire Shilu Kumar. As well as featuring a colorful, eclectic variety of lightweight scarves, shawls and ready-to-wear items, Pashma's range also extends to accessories, winterwear, home and travel items, all of which are produced in limited, exclusive quantities.  
Despite retailing in over 2000 stores across 40 countries, this humble label keeps close to its Indian roots in Ladakh, Changthang and New Delhi. What really resonated with me during my visit to the Pashma showroom (courtesy of Heat Branding!) was hearing about Pashma's social side. The brand has established concrete roots with the Changpa people residing in Changthang village, who are the meticulous hands behind the exceptional-quality cashmere that sets Pashma apart from the rest. As well as providing them with 5,000 changra goats just last year, Pashma has helped the Changpa people secure stable sources of income by buying the rare cashmere at suitable market prices, as opposed to the below-market prices that were previously paid by other businesses.
 Furthermore, Pashma's production process is limited exclusively to India, honoring the ethnicity of the designer and the source of the fabrics, as well as cutting transportation costs. All manufacturing is done under one roof in New Delhi, where the hand-spun cashmere is brought to watercolored life under rigorous quality control. Head designer and founder Shilu Kumar has 10 vastly capable designers under her, who also oversee the manufacturing process to ensure their visions are accurately, ethically and meticulously conveyed from paper to Pashma. The brand also showcased their more high-end capsule collection "Petanu" at Milan Fashion Week last year, which was undoubtedly a huge success. "Petanu" features vibrantly printed kaftans in light silk cashmere, flowy silhouettes printed with abstract textures, and an exotic palette of bold summer hues.
Pashma first opened its doors in Singapore 4 years ago, and has now expanded to four locations islandwide: two in Changi Airport (T2 and T3), an island boutique in the Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, and their flagship store at Raffles Shopping Arcade, tucked into the quaintness of the Raffles Hotel. Be sure to check out Pashma's gorgeous items, priced from SGD$200-$2000!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

fall 2012 - england | photo diary.

Here it is; the comprehensive photographic recollection of my marvelous week in Kent + London! For those of you who don't keep up with me on Twitter, I spent a week in early November soaking up the nippy weather, sunny skies (YES you read that correctly - there was magnificent weather!) and beautiful fall scenery of England. Although the purpose of the trip wasn't exactly for leisure (I spent the first half of the trip studying and sitting various exams, eek!), I ended up doing a lot of shopping, sightseeing and touristy photo-taking in England's stunning capital city. Following my rambles (which should end soon) is a photo-diary which will hopefully take you on a visual journey through my various experiences over the past week, including one or two repetitive outfits (Singapore Airlines' weight allowance unfortunately didn't accommodate my entire wardrobe so apologies for the lack of diversity in the apparel department!), tourist-y shots, and countless snaps of the crispy fall leaves/bare trees - I seriously can't help myself when it comes to fall, I have such a weakness for the burnt hues of the perishing foliage, the fragile, naked branches and the fresh-red-cheeks weather that goes along with it. It's such a beautiful representation of nature's most intricate cycle; the dying, falling, absence and subsequent regrowth of leaves, and the leisurely decline in temperature followed by the eagerness of warm sun, gently nudging the snow out until next year. Judging by the snowstorms that have hit my cousins in Connecticut, my description was probably a little (or a lot) romanticized, but when you live in a tropical city without the luxuries of dynamic weather, all you've got is your imagination to fuel you (e.g. turning my air-con down to 10˚C on Christmas Eve in order to bundle up in several woolly articles of clothing and pretend I'm in Europe). Enjoy!