An Analytical Study of Islamic Talismanic Shirts as an Inspiration for Contemporary Mahrukh Khan

The research paper discusses the history, procedure, purpose and function of the Islamic Talismanic shirts as an off-shoot of inscribed textiles called tiraz. The shirts have been decorated manually by ink and pen with prayers, inscriptions from the Holy Quran and Vefk and Abjad grids/ waqf al-a’dad (numeric grids) as Talismans for the protections of the wearer. Most of the specimens discussed in the paper are currently housed in museums, palaces and personal collections. The Talismanic shirts belong to the era between 15th to 19th century in the Safavid, Ottoman, South Asian and West African cultures. The aim of the study is to throw light on the historic significance of wearable textiles with Calligraphy, the reasons for the downfall of the craft in Muslim societies and to trace out the revival and inspiration in contemporary fashion trends in Pakistan. The study relates the historic use of Arabic calligraphy in Talismanic shirts with the contemporary fashion trends by analyzing the leading Pakistani Textile brands and their products through online fashion catalogues and store visits in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The research discusses examples of the contemporary brands by comparison with the collections of the historic Talismanic shirts and traces out the similarities in composition, layout, color scheme and motif elements. The paper concludes with proposals for the acceptance and promotion of Apparel Textiles with non-religious Calligraphy in Pakistan as a break from the typical commercial floral and geometric trends.