Injiri: Woven Legacies and the World of Chinar Farooqui
"As a designer working with handlooms in India, I feel a responsibility to engage with textiles in a way that respects their origins. These crafts are not static; they evolve, they adapt, and they remain relevant in contemporary life. The challenge, and the privilege, is to work with them in a way that preserves their integrity while allowing them to find new expressions."
— Chinar Farooqui, Founder/Designer Injiri
For Jaipur-based designer Chinar Farooqui, textiles are living archives of culture, geography, and memory. Through her label Injiri, she has built a practice rooted in sustaining India’s craft traditions while offering them a contemporary language. Her ethos is one of continuity: “We work with certain groups across India and continue working with the same set season after season. Unless we support these artisans repeatedly, we won’t be able to build deep connections or help their craft survive.” From the inlaid weft of Jamdani to the delicate knots of Bandhani and the fine needlework of Chikan, Injiri ensures labour-intensive traditions remain viable, sustaining both livelihoods and heritage.
From the Shekhawati collection, influenced by colours and visual aesthetics of Rajasthan where Chinar grew up.
This deep respect for textiles was seeded early. Growing up in Rajasthan, Chinar often visited marble carvers and hand block printers with her mother, experiences that sparked her fascination with craft. Her real “eureka” moment came during her studies at the National Institute of Design, when a field assignment took her to Ladakh. There she saw weaving as an everyday practice, where families produced most of the cloth they used. “The experience of understanding how central textiles were to people’s lives changed the way I looked at them,” she recalls.
Injiri - from the Summer 2025 Collection - 'Notes of Fragrance'.
Chinar’s academic journey, from fine arts at MS University Baroda to design at NID, was not without struggle. Initially daunted by the “constraints of technique and commerce,” she found clarity through fieldwork in places like Kachchh and Bhujodi. Her research into organic lac-dyeing helped revive traditional practices, and her immersion in regional vocabularies of cloth gave her a foundation to work from.
From the 'Rasa' collection by Injiri.
In 2009, she launched Injiri. The name — meaning “real India” — was historically used for madras check textiles exported from South India to West Africa. For Chinar, it symbolises the journeys textiles have always made, carrying stories across cultures. Instead of chasing trends, Injiri looks to antique fabrics, farmers’ garments, and simple woven checks for inspiration. Collections such as Chaukadi and Chaurbagh reflect this quiet sensibility: textiles that feel like pressed flowers, imbued with memory and time.
From the 'Neel' collection by Injiri.
This September, Selvedge will present Injiri as part of the first Indian Designer Showroom at London Fashion Week. Hosted at Asia House, a Grade II listed Georgian townhouse and cultural institution, the three-day event will showcase seven Indian designers working with handcrafted contemporary clothing. The timing is significant: earlier this summer, the UK government removed import tariffs on Indian textiles, a shift that opens new possibilities for trade and cultural exchange.
Today, Injiri is celebrated internationally and stocked in concept stores around the world. Yet at its heart, it remains grounded in artisan relationships nurtured season after season and in the quiet poetry of the loom. Through Injiri, Chinar Farooqui ensures India’s textile traditions continue to evolve—faithful to their origins, yet alive with new expression.
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Further Information:
The Selvedge Designer Showroom: India's Leading Contemporary Designers takes place at Asia House on Wednesday 17 and Thursday 18 September, 11-5 p.m. The showroom is open to buyers only, and further information about appointments can be found HERE.
The Designer Showroom opens as a pop-up to the public on Friday 19 September, 11-5 p.m. Further details of this event can be found HERE.
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This blog post contains extracts from the full length article 'A PERFECT PARTNERSHIP Designer & Weaver: Chinar Farooqui & Shamji Vankar Vishram Valji', featured in Selvedge Issue 98, Together.
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Image Credits:
Lead: Injiri - from the Summer 2025 Collection - 'Notes of Fragrance'.
All other images as credited in photo captions.