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Origins
Resembling a large comma or twisted teardrop, the kidney-shaped paisley is one of the most recognized patterns in the world. The lacy pattern is Persian in origin, but its western name derives from the town of Paisley, in central Scotland. In Pakistan Paisley designs are widely termed as the "Carrey" design. Carrey in Urdu means the Mango seed.
Some design scholars call the distinct shape boteh and believe it is the convergence of a stylized floral spray and a cypress tree: a Zoroastrian symbol of life and eternity. A floral motif called buta,[3] which originated in the Safavid Dynasty of Persia (from 1501 to 1736), was a major textile pattern in Iran also during the Qajar Dynasty. In these periods, the pattern was used to decorate royal regalia, crowns, and court garments, as well as textiles used by the general population.
The pattern is still widely popular in Iran and Central Asian countries. It is woven using gold or silver threads on silk or other high quality textiles for gifts, for weddings and special occasions. In Iran and Uzbekistan its use goes beyond clothing - paintings, jewelry, frescoes, curtains, tablecloths, quilts, carpets, garden landscaping, and pottery also sport the buta design. In Uzbekistan the most frequent item that can be found featuring the design is the traditional headdress doppi.
The modern French words for paisley are boteh and palme, the latter being a reference to the palm tree, which, along with the pine and the cypress, is one of the traditional botanical motifs thought to have influenced the shape of the paisley element as we now know it.[4] Paisley became popular again in the late 1980s/early 1990s particularly with African-American gangs, the Bloods and the Crips, when, respectively, red or blue paisley bandanas were worn as a signifier of gang affiliation. Thus in modern times, paisley bandanas are often (but not always) used as a signifier of gangland affiliation.
European introduction
Imports from the East India Company in the first half of the 17th century made paisley and other Indian patterns wildly popular, and the Company was unable to import enough to meet the demand. It was popular in the European Baltic states between 1700 and 1800 and was thought to be used as a protective charm to ward off evil demons. However, in modern culture, the youth of these countries have used it as a symbol of rebellion. See "iconic use" below.
Local manufacturers in Armenia and Marseilles began to mass-produce the patterns via early textile printing processes at 1640. England, circa 1670, and Holland, in 1678, soon followed. This, in turn, provided Europe's weavers with more competition than they could bear, and the production and import of printed paisley was forbidden in France by royal decree from 1686 to 1759. However, enforcement near the end of that period was lax, and France had its own printed textile manufacturing industry in place as early at 1746 in some locales. Paisley was not the only design produced by French textile printers; the demand for paisley which created the industry there also made possible production of native patterns such as toile du Jouy, which, like paisley, has become a classic decorative motif throughout the Western world.[5]
The 19th Century saw a real explosion of European production of paisley, particularly in the Scottish town from which the pattern takes its modern name. Soldiers returning from the colonies brought home cashmere wool shawls from India, and the East India Company imported more. The design was copied from the costly silk and wool Kashmir shawls and adapted first for use on handlooms, and, after 1820,[6] on Jacquard looms.
From roughly 1800 to 1850, the weavers of the town of Paisley in Renfrewshire, Scotland, became the foremost producers of these shawls. Unique additions to their handlooms and Jacquard looms permitted them to work in five colors when most weavers were producing paisley using only two.[6] The design became known as the Paisley pattern. By 1860, Paisley could produce shawls with fifteen colors, which was still only a quarter of the colors in the multi-color paisleys then still being imported from Kashmir.[6]
In addition to the loom-woven fabric, Paisley became a major site for the manufacture of printed cotton and wool in the 19th Century, according to the Scotland's Paisley Museum and Art Gallery.[7] The paisley pattern was being printed, rather than woven, onto other textiles, including cotton squares which were the precursors of the modern bandanna. Being able to purchase printed paisley rather than woven paisley brought the price of the costly pattern down and added to its popularity. The key places of manufacture for printed paisley were Britain and the Alsace region of France.[8]
Contemporary style
Authors Hal Rubenstein and Jim Mullen published a book in 1995 titled Paisley Goes With Nothing: A Man's Guide to Style, ISBN 0385477120.
Paisley design had a renaissance in 2000/2001 and most recently 2004 and early 2005, when men's designers such as Robert Talbott began using the pattern again in ties.
J. Barbour & Sons make traditional Paisley handkerchiefs to complement their Barbour jackets.
In classic women's fashions, the paisley scarf, a smaller, lightweight version of the paisley shawls manufactured in Scotland which made the pattern an English fashion staple, has never gone out of fashion. In the early 21st century, paisley is a popular motif in Vera Bradley bags.
Paisley also goes in and out of vogue as an upholstery, bedding, and curtain fabric.
High-profile iconic use
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Paisley was particularly popular during the Summer of Love, heavily identified with psychedelic style and the interest in Indian spirituality and culture brought about by the pilgrimage of The Beatles there in 1968. John Lennon had a Rolls Royce painted with the design in 1967. Also, Fender Guitars made a Pink Paisley version of their Telecaster guitar, by sticking paisley wallpaper onto the guitar bodies. The modern recording artist Prince paid tribute to the rock and roll history of paisley when he created the Paisley Park recording label and established Paisley Park Studios.
Paisley designs are also the most frequently used designs on henna tattoos.
References
- ^ The Persian Pickle Club, Sandra Dallas. St. Martin's Press, (1995). ISBN 0312135866
- ^ Quilting and Patchwork, Good Housekeeping (1983). ISBN 0852232764
- ^ Sophie Campbell. "Paisley: a designer heritage." Telegraph.co.uk, 12 January 2007.
- ^ Persian Pickles or Paisley? Accessed February 3, 2008.
- ^ The Prohibition Years, 1686-1759, Le Musée de l'Impression sur Etoffes (The Museum of Printed Textiles). Accessed in English February 3, 2008.
- ^ a b c Beyond the Fringe: Shawls of Paisley Design by Meg Andrews. Heavily illustrated history of paisley fashions. Accessed February 3, 2008.
- ^ Paisley Museum and Art Gallery
- ^ Printed "Paisley" in the 19th Century, Le Musée de l'Impression sur Etoffes (The Museum of Printed Textiles). Accessed in English February 3, 2008.
External links
- Beyond the Fringe: Shawls of Paisley Design by Meg Andrews. Heavily illustrated history of paisley fashions. Accessed February 3, 2008.
- Persian Pickles or Paisley? Accessed February 3, 2008.
Further reading
- Irwin, John. The Kashmir Shawl. Victoria and Albert Museum, (1973). ISBN 0112901646
- Levi-Strauss, Monique. The French Shawls. Dryad Press Ltd, (1987). ISBN 0852197594
- Reilly, Valerie. The Paisley Pattern: The Official Illustrated History. Richard Drew, Glasgow (1987). ISBN 086267
