The Ultimate Scarf

Yaser Shaw’s cashmere shawls are the kind of pieces that recalibrate your idea of luxury: whisper‑light, quietly extravagant and charged with the energy of many hands. Stocked at Mouki Mou on Chiltern Street and discovered and curated by Maria Lemos – whose eye has long made the street a pilgrimage site for the detail‑obsessed – they appear deceptively simple on the shelf but reveal their intricacy the moment they are unfolded, held in hand and laid against the skin. They were a revelation the first time we touched them, and hearing about the hours of work each shawl’s embroidery takes was mind‑blowing.

Maria Lemos is one of those low‑key London legends whose taste quietly shapes what everyone else ends up wanting. As founder of the Rainbowwave showroom, she has long been the behind‑the‑scenes force launching and nurturing brands that now feel like fixtures: from early days with Erdem, JW Anderson and Peter Pilotto to building cult followings for Ancient Greek Sandals and Giuliva Heritage Collection. Her showroom is known for spotting designers before the rest of the industry has caught up, then placing them in exactly the right stores and on exactly the right women.

That same instinct underpins Mouki Mou – and its newer sibling, m.ii – where she curates an improbably harmonious mix of global labels, from Athens jeweller Ileana Makri to Spanish ready‑to‑wear brand Masscob, Japanese outerwear from Arts & Science, and handcrafted menswear by Oliver Church and Rier. The effect is less “multi‑brand boutique”, more intimate universe: rough‑luxury space, slow fashion, objects with soul.

Founder Yaser Shaw, a fifth‑generation Kashmiri artisan, continues a family lineage of pashmina makers that stretches back to the 19th century, working with hundreds of craftspeople across Kashmir to keep hand‑spinning, hand‑weaving and hand‑embroidering alive. His pieces move through as many as 36 stages of production and can take months – even years – to complete, using rare Himalayan cashmere that delivers that cloud‑like, almost weightless warmth.

In December 2025, Mouki Mou hosted a special pop‑up with Shaw, spotlighting more elaborate, heavily embroidered masterpieces that showcased the full theatre of Kashmiri needlework, often with animal motifs. By contrast, the edit Maria keeps in store the rest of the year leans into restraint: muted palettes, minimal pattern, the kind of “nothing, yet everything” pieces that slip over a T‑shirt or silk dress and instantly make the outfit. As she says, “Each one is unique; there are recurring themes, but no two are identical unless they are entirely plain, without embroidery.” What makes them special is that tension between invisibility and impact – a shawl that feels like air, but carries a century of stories within its weave.