I recently spent a month travelling in Himachal and living in home-stays in quaint villages to experience the local life there, during winters. In one such homestay was a lady who would serve us simple home-cooked food around a traditional tandoor in a wooden kitchen that overlooked snow-capped mountains. While I would hug my sweater tight trying to save myself from the cold, she would move about as if it were summer and boasted about being from Kinnaur, a place that was even colder than I could imagine. She showed me the thick material of her dresses that helped keep her warm and shared more about the clothing style back in Kinnaur, her hometown. And that's how I discovered the Kinnauri print - geometric, colourful with mostly squarish patterns. After moving to the next homestay and halfway through sketching the Kinnauri design to include in the collection, I opened my curtains one day to see the scenic view of black winding roads, green spiky pine trees, and brown wooden houses all painted bright white! The snowfall had begun and I experienced my first snow. It was delicate, sparkly, and cold even to the eyes and it reminded me of the stories of Kinnaur, told by the lady.
The Kinnauri design in the ‘Bunnai’ Collection boasts of geometric elements from the Kinnauri print and the colours and mood of the snowflake.