Opening up vistas
The French Angle
Kashmiri shawl has been acclaimed for centuries but historians credit French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s fashionable wife Joséphine de Beauharnais for making it a global sensation. Joséphine, Napoleon’ wife for 14 years, is considered among history’s greatest style icons. Her elegance, charm, and easy aristocratic grace are legendary. Her contribution to the evolution of French luxury industry is next to none. Her fascination with Kashmiri shawls grew after Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign in 1798, when the French Army returning from the Egyptian campaign, brought many items including a lot of shawls. The best of these shawls were gifted to the emperor and reached the queen. Joséphine, historians say, was the proud owner of 200 to 400 Kashmiri shawls. In a number of paintings depicting her, she can be seen wearing Kashmiri shawls. Her love for shawls became a trendsetter, as till then, it was only being worn by wealthy men in the Indian subcontinent, and not women. Notwithstanding its cost-a substantial 12000 francs then, the Kashmiri shawl became a craze among women in Europe.
The French Angle
Kashmiri shawl has been acclaimed for centuries but historians credit French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s fashionable wife Joséphine de Beauharnais for making it a global sensation. Joséphine, Napoleon’ wife for 14 years, is considered among history’s greatest style icons. Her elegance, charm, and easy aristocratic grace are legendary. Her contribution to the evolution of French luxury industry is next to none. Her fascination with Kashmiri shawls grew after Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign in 1798, when the French Army returning from the Egyptian campaign, brought many items including a lot of shawls. The best of these shawls were gifted to the emperor and reached the queen. Joséphine, historians say, was the proud owner of 200 to 400 Kashmiri shawls. In a number of paintings depicting her, she can be seen wearing Kashmiri shawls. Her love for shawls became a trendsetter, as till then, it was only being worn by wealthy men in the Indian subcontinent, and not women. Notwithstanding its cost-a substantial 12000 francs then, the Kashmiri shawl became a craze among women in Europe.
