Injiri
When we unpacked the latest shipment of Injiri clothing, we couldn’t get enough of it. We all crowded around the rack, touching the handwoven fabric, admiring the embroidery, and exclaiming at the care given to the tiniest of details, from the hand-stitched buttonholes to the clever placement of seams for a loose yet flattering fit.
Chinar Farooqui launched Injiri in 2009 with the goal of creating timeless, sustainable clothing using generations-old techniques. Farooqui studies old textiles and works side by side with master weavers through India to create fabrics that reflect their heritage. As Farooqui points out, India’s traditional textiles are coded with the stories of where they originate. The weave, dyes, and even how the selvedge is woven tell about a region’s culture.
Then there are Injiri’s designs. For maximum beauty and usefulness, Farooqui grounds the clothing she creates in historic garments. She borrows colors and patterns from Africa and Japan, and she thinks about how a dress will be worn—how it moves on the body, how it cools you and comforts you. The result is the sort of clothing you hang at the front of your closet and find yourself reaching for again and again for a trip to the farmers market or lunch with friends.
With Injiri, Farooqui helps sustain these traditions. Each of Injiri’s garments are touched by many craftspeople who embroider a yoke or hand-tie grains of rice for resist-dying or fasten tiny hand-forged metal buttons to a cuff. An Injiri dress feels alive with with care.
Injiri isn’t about fashion. It’s about style, craft, and tradition. In short, it’s just our kind of thing. Maybe yours, too.