Fashion Tales from the Himalayas

I first heard about Looms of Ladakh when the pandemic hit in 2020. We were looking for artisans and craft cooperatives to raise money for and someone had suggested their name. Fortunately, they were well taken care of by their founders, but I have continued to follow their extraordinary work ever since.

Looms of Ladakh is actually a farmhouse-to-fashion brand, if there ever was one. She is first and foremost a breeder-artisan, which means that she gives work to her breeders and makes them co-owners of the brand. Its founder brought together women weavers from Ladakh (Ladakh is one of the few places in India where women weave. The rest of India has only male weavers, while the women are just a pair of extra hands) to create a pashmina mark. Pashmina, the soft wool of the Ladakhi mountain goat, is a precious commodity in the world of luxury fashion. Few Indian companies work with pashmina, because it is difficult to find and therefore very expensive. Looms of Ladakh is special not only for the quality of its pashmina, but also because it is an all-female company.

I have seen a lot of Looms of Ladakh's products at various pop-ups in Mumbai. These are soft but thick pieces of wool, a bit like the ones that grandmother knitted. Neutral grays and beiges, thick earmuffs, socks, caps, etc.

But I am in Leh now and visiting Looms of Ladakh store in Leh Bazaar. It's less of a store and more of an office, but the upper floor is tastefully furnished with local wood and a sophisticated ambiance. The soft-spoken Lobzang Lamo (everyone in Leh speaks so softly, it's almost like they're praying in a whisper) Lobzang Lamo shows us around. The objects here are so different from what I had seen before. It's thanks to a designer collaboration with the talented Rina Singh of Eka, one of our much-loved sustainable fashion brands.

Rina used local motifs of mountains, prayer wheels, etc. and, for the first time, presented a little woolen embroidery to the ladies of the looms. She also introduced a bit of color, inspired by the multi-colored prayer flags seen across the city. The pieces are beautiful and can be sold and worn all over the world.

This collaboration was carried out by Royal Enfield Social Mission. This is the CSR arm of the famous motorcycle manufacturer, but it is unfair to characterize this as a mere government mandate. The way Siddharth Lal has attempted to make an impact on the terrain and communities of the Himalayas, where most of his riders venture, is nothing short of a cry from the heart. Lal, CEO of Royal Enfield and Eicher Motors, launched The Himalayan Knot, a textile conservation project in the region. Craftsmanship has long been an anchor of heritage. In Ladakh, finely woven woolen textiles are silent storytellers of the woven heritage of Changpa women, whose skillful hands capture history in patterns, he says. Apart from Eka, other designer collaborations are in the pipeline with Countrymade's Sonam Dubal and Sushant Abrol.

Lal's vision is to leave every place better. A little further from the Looms area is Camp Kharu, an all-green pit stop for bikers going up to Pangong and Hanle. It's a two-story, 1,500-square-foot structure made of driftwood and adobe that serves as a café (the kitchen is run by six local women from self-help groups) as well as a dining area. exhibition, overlooking the magnificent Indus River.

I also visited Kharu, riding with one of the Royal Enfields riders, wearing a soft white shawl from Looms of Ladakh X Eka. The ladies at the cafe brewed barley beer, a great ambiance for the nearby concert of Da Shugs, a Ladakhi band so popular that even the little kids grooving knew the lyrics.