the Eid clothes collection in the market comprises clothes that are either extremely fancy or horrendously bland
LAHORE: I wonder when retail brands in Pakistan will strike a balance between extravagance and mediocrity. This letter is the product of supreme disillusionment with current Eid collections released by the top clothing lines.
Due to the severity of the weather, many of us are opting for ready-to-wear clothes this holiday season. The fundamental problem that arises, however, is that the clothes in our stores are quite the opposite. They are just not ready to wear, or at least not yet. Even after doling out thousands of rupees, all one achieves is a decent top. Pants and dupatta are largely the customer’s own responsibility. This begs the question: what is the point of spending so much money on clothes that still require more thought and effort?
In addition, the Eid clothes collection in the market comprises clothes that are either extremely fancy or horrendously bland. One has the option of either wearing embroidery on chiffon or an average floral lawn suit. This is rather odd, since we are deprived of in-between, nice semi-formal outfits.
Pakistani designers do not know, nor care to find out, what it is that their customers seek. Upon online design polling, they may be able to figure out which sort of outfits to emphasise upon to cater to a larger audience. Overpricing always remains an issue, but even more than that—what is really frustrating is that the clothes themselves are not exactly ‘Eid’ clothes. Designers in Pakistan ought to come out of their bubbles to figure out the demand so that they may be able to supply.
Amna Yousuf
Published in The Express Tribune, June 17th, 2017.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
