Leaving her footprint in fashion

Designer Sobia Nazir to launch outlet in Lahore and E-store in coming months

LAHORE:

Sobia Nazir has been in the fashion industry for two decades now. In this time, she has carved a distinct roadmap for her design label. Maintaining a strong footing in Islamabad, where she started off with bridal wear, she later plunged into the world of lawn and is still keen on exploring new options every now and then. Talking to The Express Tribune, the designer disclosed her plans of opening a store in Lahore and launching an E-store.

Nazir shared her store in Galleria Mall, Lahore will open doors to the public in the first week of January. “We are giving the final touches to my store in Lahore. It will cover three floors and I will be stocking bridals, prêt-wear and lawn here,” she said. Nazir revealed Karachi will be her next stop after Lahore.





As of now, she is running a bridal studio from her home in Islamabad and also selling her offerings through stockists based in different parts of the world. With the growing relevance of the virtual world, she feels the need for an E-store and said her online portal is on its way. “I don’t have an E-store yet but we are designing one, which will be up and running in a couple of months,” she noted.

Nazir’s broad clientele is scattered across the world. She sends her offerings to India, the Middle East and as far as the UK and US. “In India, there is great demand for my lawn and I have a lot of clients there. People residing in the UK and US often opt for my formal and bridal wear, while the Middle Eastern clients go for my bridals, lawn and prêt collections.”

Nazir feels prêt wear has a big future in Pakistan. “Working women will continue to purchase more of these in the coming years and this trend will keep growing,” she maintained. On why she kicked off her career as a bridal-wear designer, Nazir mentioned there is more room for creativity in the field. “I started with bridals and my focus remained more on the fabric. I feel one can push creativity to another level being a bridal-wear designer as compared to being a lawn designer. With bridal outfits, your creativity is limitless.”

But Nazir did not follow this mantra for long. She quickly diverted her attention to lawn when it became all the rage in the industry. “I discovered my interest in lawn about five years ago and launched my lawn brand. Since I am not affiliated with a textile mill, I had to set it up from scratch. Once my lawn business became well established, I went back to designing for brides on a large scale.”

Her most recent bridal showcase was at Telenor Bridal Week held earlier this month, where she brought her ‘Sar-e-Sang’ collection to the ramp. For the line, Nazir experimented with pastels and pearls on opulent fabrics, such as velvet, brocade, organza and net. Using traditional embroidery of qora, dabka and vasli work, her collection featured contemporary silhouettes.

Of the promising progress of new and old designers, Nazir said fashion is now taken as a lucrative career prospect in the country. “Designers are coming forward and launching their collections. Fashion is now extremely professional, which wasn’t the case before. I see it growing more over the coming years.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21^st,  2015.

Like Life & Style on Facebook, follow @ETLifeandStyle on Twitter for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.