a schizophrenic motif dating back to persias sassanian dynasty with multiple avatars in indian tradition is driving fashion gods in milan and london bananas nona walia tells you why the kairi should be in your wardrobe hollywood star george clooneys golden globewinning character matt king in the descendants is 50 helpless and in search of his comatose wifes lover the hair parted to one side is untidy the shoes slapdash loafers youd say hes anything but fashionable until you focus on the print of the shirt he wears in the opening scene pale blueandwhite linen in paisley print the twisted teardropshaped motif is springsummer 2012s most popular goto with appearances in milan and london fashion week collections and at the recent british fashion awards for veteran indian designer ritu kumar its the print she has been in the company of for a lifetime the curling vine or the mango motif with a stylised burst of branches emanating from the tree of life is a theme that we see in indian sculpture and textiles it takes the form of the badam on kashmirs jamawar shawls and the buti on blockprinted kalamkari fabrics of the jaipur school she says in punjab the paisley is called the ambi amb means mango mankolam in tamil nadu and carrey in pakistan kumar says its a manifestation of fertility the seed that springs life and predictably the dominant print in her 2012 collection often contemporarised on jersey tops for her younger clientele experts trace its origins to india and persia and say it symbolises the convergence of a stylised spray and a cypress tree both zoroastrian symbols of life and eternity colonialism played a part in the paisleys spread with the east india company imports making it popular in 17th century england between 1800 and 1850 soldiers returning from the colonies brought home cashmere paisley shawls and the design was copied by local weavers especially in the town of paisley renfrewshire in scotland giving the motif its western name the mechanised production of the kashmir jamawar shawl successfully killed the original cottage industry back in india rues kumar its only a fitting fashion penance then that everyone from stella mccartney on silk pyjamas and maxi dresses and matthew williamson to etro and jil sander are paying a tribute to it this season and the men must embrace it too bollywood actors akshay kumar and ranbir kapoor dressed in wild paisley silk shirts paid an energetic dance tribute to shammi kapoor at a recent award function at the milan menswear fashion week fallwinter 20122013 gucci offered trousers that were baggy at the hips and skinny at the ankles all in elegant paisley dgs jackets carried colourful geometric paisley while etros stoles and pants gave it a striking elongated and dramatic form amit sinha professor of apparel design at the national institute of design ahmedabad sees the return as interesting the influence of the paisley is visible in china malaysia and indonesia too etro of course has