JOLLY JALI
How several garments shown on Miuccia Prada’s Spring 1993 runway resembled the traditional jali decorating India’s beloved 16th Century Tomb of Salim Chishti. The prolific designer may have found her inspiration in the hippie movement of the 1960’s for this collection, yet it was the ornately traditional, star-infused Indo-Islamic architecture that came to mind at first glance. Ultimately designed as a decorative, yet functional primitive air conditioning system, the jali, a perforated stone or latticed screen, allowed light and air while minimizing the sun and the rain. When unintentionally creating her own sartorial versions of these screens, Miuccia Prada used the breathable ancient textile linen as her medium, a fabric whose natural airy composition functions similarly to the jali itself.
The Tomb of Salim Chishti, famed as one of the finest examples of Mughal architecture in India, was constructed by the Emperor Akbar during the years 1580 and 1581, as a mark of his respect for the Sufi saint, who foretold the birth of his son. Said to be located where his former meditation chamber stood, it is an ongoing Indian tradition to bury Sufis and other holy men on the very spot where they led their austere lives… The marble mausoleum has an ivory-like appearance and is enclosed by delicate lacelike floral and geometric lattice screens (jali) on all sides, as well as doors bearing inscriptions from the Quran. After the surrounding city was abandoned in 1605, the tomb of Shaykh Salim Chisti remained a pilgrimage centre, maintained by his descendants.
”While rock-obsessed New York designers were promoting grunge on their runways, the Milanese were falling for the Summer of Love. Even Miuccia Prada felt the vibe, opening her Spring 1993 show with topstitched suedes and leather daisy belts and chokers. If Haight-Ashbury informed the first third of the show, the rest was geared to an island getaway at a tony resort. There were bathing suits and cover-ups, shifts with cutout stars, fringed linen maxi dresses, as well as dramatic showstoppers like a sexy raffia crochet gown...” Laird Borrelli-Persson for Vogue
