Phulkari Button Down

Phulkari means flower work — a tradition of embroidery from Punjab, where women embroider the entire surface of a cloth with silk thread, building dense fields of colour that operate as landscape, as celebration, as dowry. The Phulkari Button Down is RASTAH's engagement with that tradition: a shirt that takes one of the most intimate forms of South Asian textile craft and wears it on the street. The base is a hand-dyed ajrak — a Sindhi resist-printed textile that itself requires multiple stages of dyeing to achieve its characteristic depth of colour. On top of this, phulkari embroidery is applied by hand, worked in silk and cotton threads, building the surface that gives the shirt its name. Mirror work finishes the composition, adding points of reflection that turn phulkari's conventional restraint into something that catches light. Ajrak and phulkari come from different provinces, different traditions, different visual languages. Placing one on top of the other is not confusion — it is the kind of creative act that only makes sense in a Pakistan where those traditions exist close enough together to be synthesised. The button-down silhouette brings this craft into a form that can be worn daily. Phulkari has always been made as a gift, as an offering, as a mark of love. This shirt carries that intention forward, worn by someone who understands what was made in making it. Each piece is individually crafted; therefore, variations in color, embroidery, and handcrafted details are to be expected and celebrated as part of its uniqueness. Key Features Hand-dyed ajrak base fabric Phulkari embroidery techniques are worked by hand in silk and cotton threads Mirror work embellishments Button-front closure Half-sleeve silhouette Care Instructions Dry clean only