Pakistani designs for India

India and Pakistan share more than history With the changing times music and Bollywood have helped in unifying the two nations and now with fashion weeks in India giving designers all over the world an opportunity to showcase their talent boundaries have blurred further Pakistani designers Sania Maskatiya Faiza Samee Rizwan Beyg and Zara Shahjahan who are showcasing their collection for the first time on Indian soil open up about the evolution of fashion in Pakistan the influence of Bollywood their inspirations and views on the current crop of Indian designersnikshubhagargmiddaycomName Sania Maskatiya Age 31Hails from KarachilsquoBollywood largely influences Pakistani fashionrsquoSania Maskatiya started designing in 2007 and now owns a eponymous luxury precirct label Having a degree in textile design from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in Karachi she always knew fashion was her calling ldquoI wouldnrsquot have had it any other way I knew I would end up working with fabrics and textilesrdquo she saysThese Japanese prints will be translated into garments for the showAn established name in Pakistan for her unique fashion sense Maskatiya is excited about her debut at the Lakme Fashion Week ldquoThe collection I will showcase is called Sakura which means cherry blossom in Japanese The designs are inspired by Japanese culture landscapes and treasure chestsAn interesting mix of incuts geometrics embroidery and texture we hope we have succeeded in creating exciting garments for the eventrdquo she addsGiven our lovehate relationship designers from Pakistan are bound to generate curiosity ldquoWe share similar languages and aesthetics However I think Pakistan is conservative when it comes to its dressing culture while India is far more westernisedrdquo believes the young designer Elaborating further on the fashion styles in her country the designer informs that Bollywood too plays a huge role in influencing fashion in Pakistan ldquoYoungsters want to dress up like Kareena Kapoor Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone In fact Bollywoodstyle lehenga cholis are very popular hererdquo she saysSo what does Maskatiya feel about the current crop of Indian fashion designers ldquoI love Masaba Guptarsquos work As I do a lot of prints as well I feel that her designs are very spunky and are extremely eyecatchingrdquo says the designerNameFaiza Samee Hails from KarachilsquoMy garments always have a regional connectrsquoFaiza Samee started designing in 1981 when there were hardly any takers for fashion studies in Pakistan let alone a degree in the subject Her knowledge stems from reading about old textiles and visiting museums that showcase collections from Burma MiddleEast and Turkey So how did fashion designing happen we ask ldquoIt was during my brotherrsquos wedding for which I took on the responsibility of designing the wedding outfits for family members While working on it I realised that the embroidery styles of 1520 years ago had got lost along the way and their place had been taken over by brocade and polyester Also there were a lot of craftsmen in Pakistan who had worked with prepartition Indian rajas and maharajas and knew their craft well I felt the need to revive this style as we were losing a part of our traditional embroidery patterns It all started from thererdquo she recallsFaizarsquos collection Cruise 2015 is a take on the culture of nations along the Silk RouteFor a designer who has witnessed the evolution of fashion in Pakistan the changing scenario is sure to evoke many emotions ldquoI believe that the nations along the Silk Route Central Asia China and Turkey have a versatile culture since the beginning all trade happened here and we got access to people from various backgrounds Hence our traditional motifs are multifaceted We must use it to our strengthrdquo elaborates Samee This she believes is also the reason why all her garments have a regional connect ldquoWe are one of the few nations who can offer something contemporary yet stick to our rootsrdquo she addsGetting a chance to showcase her work at Lakme Fashion Week is a huge opportunity for her ldquoLakme Fashion Week serves as a global platform and helps countries understand each othersrsquo cultures better through their clothes My collection titled Cruise 2015 is a take on classical techniques We have used Central Asian weaves and rich Turkish motifs and fused them with silks and velvets in rich jewel tonesrdquo says the designerFashion diva Sonam Kapoor is her top choice when it comes to her wishlist of dressing Bollywood beauties But what are her immediate future plans ldquoOh Hopefully get this collection in our store After that I shall get busy with the wedding season in Karachirdquo she concludesName Rizwan Beyg Age 48Hails from KarachilsquoBeing stuck in traffic inspired my collectionrsquoSome friends bring out the best in you Something similar happened to Rizwan Beyg an architecturedegree holder when his friend challenged him to create a collection for her ldquoI used to call her pretty but poorlydressedrdquo he laughs at the memory But now he can only thank her as hersquos not looked back at architecture ever since Not having studied fashion he did take training in the draping and styling to make himself aesthetically soundIn fact his first break was when he designed for Lady Diana in 1996 ldquoI was a close friend of Jemima Khan Imran Khanrsquos wife and she asked me to design something special for her guestrdquo he says With the upcoming Lakme Fashion Week just a few days away Beygrsquos confident of his designs ldquoMy collection is inspired from truck art You can never say when inspiration strikes you I went from being irritated of being stuck in a traffic jam behind an lsquoartyrsquo truck to wondering how can I translate this funky art into garmentsrdquo says the designerBeygrsquos collection will also provide a glimpse into the culture and heritage of the country he belongs to ldquoI am not interested in drawing crosscultural referencesrdquo he explains And although the designer thinks highly of his Indian counterparts he feels some of them could be more inspired from their own heritage rather than cater to the Western audience ldquoMost designers think only in terms of western silhouettes This makes their work generic in my opinionrdquo he addsThe collection which includes funky jackets and trousers speaks volumes of the art on trucks on PakistanBeyg elaborates by citing the time when he designed for Lady Diana and made a traditional achkan and salwar for her ldquoShe wore it with great pride The point Irsquom making is that in the quest of aping the west we are losing our identity We need to understand that the Little Black Dresss LBD has no importance in this part of the world It is an imported ideardquo adds the designerName Zara Shahjahan Age 34Hails from LahoreThe designer calls herself a true Lahori and is quick to admit that the Pakistani fashion scenario is conservative ldquoOur modern wear is our traditional shalwar kameez So in Pakistan a woman wearing shalwar kameez is considered as fashionable as her counterparts in India who wear jeans and teesrdquo says ShahjahanSo how experimental has she been with her collection for the LFW ldquoVintage English designs have always inspired me and for my collection titled lsquoCity of Gardensrsquo I have fused Old Lahore and vintage floral printsrdquo explains the designerIndia has become a huge market for fashion designers and such fashion weeks do play an important role in giving opportunities to people all over the world to showcase what their part of the world has to offer ldquoI think the strength of Indian fashion lies in the fact that designers there have managed to showcase contemporary collections but with tradition at its core My collection portrays traditonal Pakistani designs with highend fashion sensibilitiesrdquo she saysZararsquoa collection fuses florals with the nostalgia of old LahoreSo which Indian actress fits the bill of a Zara Shahjahan model ldquoWell I admire both Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi I would have loved for them to wear my collection From the younger generation I think both Sonam Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra are very stylishrdquoshe says Though LFW is an important event for her the designer already has a packed schedule until March next year ldquoWehave Lifestyle Pakistan coming up which will be held in Mumbai on August 31 after which we are participating in the LrsquoOreacuteal Bridal Week in Lahore The later half of the year is the wedding season and we finally showcase at Luxury Precirct Week in March next yearrdquo she concludes