Kashmiri shawls carrying elaborate boteh motifs became enormously fashionable in Europe. Manufacturers in Paisley, Scotland, began producing imitations, helping the pattern become so closely associated with the town that the English name paisley endured.
The irony is that many people today recognise the word paisley instantly, yet know little about the Kashmiri textile traditions that helped make the motif internationally famous.
A small piece of fashion history: the name most familiar to the world is not the name traditionally used for the motif in its Kashmiri textile context.
