History of Paisley

“The most widely accepted theory is that the pattern (then known as “Boteh”) as a whole is a stylized floral or botanical motif mixed with the outline of a cypress tree — commonplace in the Middle East, and widely recognized as a symbol of life and eternity. The Boteh was used not only in textiles, but also in jewelry, art, landscaping, and architecture. Its prevalence spread across the Middle East to other southern and central Asian nations, further muddling its own exact origins. It wasn’t until around the 1600s when British traders and spice merchants hailing from the East India Company brought the Boteh back to their own native countries, where it enjoyed very popular Western demand (due in part to beliefs that the pattern was an Asian charm used to ward off demons) — so much so, that traders were often unable to import enough to meet demand. It was that outpaced demand that prompted first French, then Scottish weavers to copy the pattern and produce the fabric on their own native looms. In the early 1800s, the first town to devote its output exclusively to the production of boteh-inspired patterns, was the Scottish town of Paisley, who used Jacquard looms to produce designs in a broad spectrum of colors and patterns that no longer needed to rely on originals for copying. The name stuck.”

via Hypebeast