Striking yet discreet, mysterious yet familiar, pure but sexy…in the hands of Shayesteh Nazemi's Shi label, cashmere doesn't behave in quite the same way as it does anywhere else. But then its creator isn't exactlyconventional. Cut with intimate knowledge of what flatters a woman, sometimes in muted greys, naturals,chocolates or black, other times in brilliant jewel colours or soft pastels, they wind and twist their way seductively about the body, some edged with winking beads, plush fur or feathers. These dual journeys have ensured Shi Cashmere has remained a magnet for the stylish. Uma Thurman, Kate Moss, Nicole Kidman, Julia Roberts, Madonna, Mick Jagger, Naomi Campbell, Eric Clapton, Aretha Franklin and Goldie Hawn are just a few of her admirers.
She is known by everyone as Shi, it's pronounced shy, but don't be misled. Shi studied fashion at the world famous Saint Martin's in London. She's a pioneering rebel in triple-ply cashmere clothing. It comes as no surprise that the first time she sliced into a length of cashmere the mill workers watching her audibly gasped. “I think they were in shock” she laughs. “They had been saving every thread that dropped onto the floor in a big bag - and I was binning lengths”
It is now 25 years since Shi established her own mill in Scotland and many design revolutions later she can make many of her designs in any of 150 colours as well as fulfil bespoke requests from customers. Iconoclasm is still the bedrock of her philosophy. The bravura swathes of cashmere, linen and other pure fabrics inspired by traditional, Iranian costume remain at the heart of her collections, and the radical simplicity of their architectural shapes is an addictive combination of the wildly luxurious and the abstemious.
The past few years, have lead her in new directions, alongside her signature path of timeless, avant-garde classics. The results are strictly contemporary, but always with the inimitable flashes of Shi wit and originality that mark them out as long-time staples.
Shi has opened her second boutique on Madison Avenue (74th Street) in New York after her first one in Lowndes Street, Belgravia, off Sloane Street diagonally across from the Jumeriah Carlton Tower Hotel. Look out for her sumptuous and contemporary linen collection which is available all year round, in a wide variety of mouth watering colours (photographed), after much demand from her discerning clients for a Summer collection. So, whether you are pint sized or a voluptuous goddess, you must visit Shi who will be able to make and adapt her designs, especially for you.
The Victoria & Albert Museum chose to exhibit Shi's designs in their Design Avant-garde Exhibition in the early eighty's, for her innovation as Shi changed the look of Scottish cashmere forever, where the only other two fashion design exhibitors were the late Gianni Versace and Gianfranco Ferre. We are sure she will do the same with her new linen look, also as uncompromising and individual as she is herself.
LISA ARMSTRONG - The Times
