LAHORE: Known for her customised bridal couture, wedding wear and semi formals that are made-to-order, Farah Talib Aziz’s exhibits this year were a standout.
The collection, which is designed with the ongoing season in mind, ranges between Rs6,000 to Rs20,000. Each piece has been crafted in accordance with Aziz’s signature feminine, floral and pastel aesthetic, and amalgamates hand embellishments, embroidery, crochets, and intricate fabric.
Like most housewives-turned-designers, Aziz’s operation began from her house and with the advent of social media, her brand has ascended to a national level. “It is unfair to assume that everyone walking through your doors has the same buying power. Everyone’s budget needs to be taken into consideration,” Aziz tells The Express Tribune.
Once her daughter moved back to Karachi and started helping Aziz, the landscape of the brand changed. “People are a lot more aware now and are constantly in touch with the world through social media,” says Maliha Aziz, adding that international fashion magazines are pouring out endless content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, so it is almost foolish to allude what is happening in the international fashion scene. “It is important to maintain your own identity while also keeping in mind the colours and cuts the international fashion community is dictating.”
With a full range of pret, semi formals, formals and a made-to-order bridal range, the brand is now venturing out into different cities, including Lahore. “It takes a designer some time to gain confidence. We realised that there is a lot more that goes into making a brand than just designing clothes,” she adds. “We have now hired people to manage our social media.” The design house focuses primarily on an ethereal aesthetic using a lot of pastel colours with embroidery and crystal work. “Our design philosophy is simple,” continues Aziz. “We won’t give our client anything that we won’t wear ourselves and for this reason, we don’t use artificial fabrics.”
Another positive that social media has brought to the fashion industry is design control. Since people are able to view designs from the comfort of their homes, they can also spot knock-off designs from other designers. And in many ways, it has allowed clients to choose their design houses with relative ease.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2014.
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