Designer Revives Centuries-Old Kasab Zari Craft

In Mumbai, India, designer Monica Shah is working to revive kasab zari, a nearly lost Mughal embroidery technique. Shah discovered a vintage jacket made of pure silver thread within Chanakya International’s textile archive.

This sparked her exploration of kasab, a fabric-less embroidery using fine metal-wrapped threads and an Aari needle. She learned the technique requires intricate knotting, called madkan, to secure each design element.

Shah and master craftspeople at Chanakya spent six months replicating the technique. They then trained apprentices to continue the labor-intensive work. Jade by Monica and Karishma created a kasab lehenga, hand-sewn over 15,000 hours, for a recent wedding.

To make the craft viable today, Shah substituted a precious alloy for pure silver. While demand for kasab is growing, challenges remain in scaling production. Shah continues to draw inspiration from South Asian textiles, believing the past informs the future of Indian fashion.