Introducing Janavi
Sometimes you find brands that just represent so many things that you love and believe. Janavi is one of those brands.
First off, it is cashmere. I mean, who doesn’t love cashmere? But, not only is it a fabric I love, the care and techniques used to create the pieces in this collection are like no other. True artisans create each scarf by hand. As I am in this industry longer, I find that the way things are made and the quality of the process matters more and more.
Janavi was founded by a woman, Jyotika Jhalani when she was in her early 30s. She dropped out of school when she was 15, and in her early 20s, she helped out at an exhibit selling shawls from Kashmir. This led her into the industry, but she also wanted to make sure India got to a higher plane in the fashion industry. She didn’t want something run of the mill. She loved color, painting, embroidery and decided to combine all three things to make something unique and beautiful.
Her first client was Salvatore Ferragamo, and then she started producing pieces for Dior, Missoni, and so on, but not under her name. She was the first person to make lace scarves for Valentino, and then, of course, many tried to replicate, but they never could do it quite the same as she could.
With her own label, she is now in more than 100 stores and has more than 400 employees. Here is one of my favorite parts: she pays many of her artisans more than the employees who run the business side of her company. She believes in paying for creativity and skill and knows that she doesn’t have a degree either, but that isn’t what matters.
You can learn more about her story here. You can see her line in person at The Hive. We just unpacked a beautiful assortment, and we are so happy to support a company in India. Keep reading Alexandria Stylebook for an event this fall with Janavi.
