Shift in gears ahead of lawn season

Maliha Aziz of FTA and Anum Akram of Crimson speak about latest collaboration

LAHORE:

The winds of winter engulf us now but the season to don lawn is fast approaching. It is the season when exclusive designers attach themselves to textile mills in order to connect with a bigger market. Farah Talib Aziz (FTA) is one such Karachi-based brand who steers away from fashion weeks and does not have a retail presence, thus far. This, however,  is set to change come end May, when Crimson, a new venture Farah Talib Aziz has become Creative Head of, sets up stores in popular malls across Lahore and Karachi. The Express Tribune talks to brand manager FTA Maliha Aziz, and CEO of Crimson, Anum Akram about the latest collaboration.

While FTA collaborated with Lakhany Silk Mills (LSM) for two lawn collections last year, Crimson is a more permanent partnership. Speaking about the brand’s previous liaison with one of the leading textile mills in Pakistan, Maliha says,“We diverted towards Crimson because we found it more attractive and prêt is the future, whereas only a certain segment of the market likes customised lawn.”

With Farah Talib Aziz as its creative head, Crimson plans to unveil 16 unstitched designs priced between Rs6,000 and Rs7,500 and eight prêt wear kurtas falling below RS2,500. Offering a variety of colours, the designs will be stocked at exhibitions towards the end of March. Expressing excitement about the upcoming line, Maliha stated, “The kurtas will be in different prints and cater to the younger lot who don’t care much for customisation.” The formals of the unstitched prints will be made on jacquard material instead of lawn, and will comprise digitally printed silk dupattas.



The FTA brand structure has been tweaked to accommodate this foray into prêt where Crimson has kept a pricing cap of Rs20,000 to Rs25,000 and anything above that will be stocked at the FTA design studio. “We have been focusing on semi formals, formals and bridals at FTA and Crimson will help us be more commercial and approachable,” adds Maliha.

Anum shares, “Instead of prints we are focusing on embroidery because there has been a bit of a print overkill. But when we do prints, we start from a paper and a paintbrush because we want to bring back the craftsmanship element.” On the same note, Maliha mentions, “Oil paints create a lot of mess but it’s worth it because you can recreate exactly what’s on your mind on paper.” Additionally, FTA will only be designing prints and prêt for Crimson and not her own label.

Maliha Aziz and Farah Talib Aziz

According to Anum, what has really worked in favour of FTA is that the brand has been able to gain an older and younger generation’s perspective because both Farah and Maliha work closely together. “They don’t incorporate animals or faces in their designs which is why their aesthetic pleases everyone,” explains  Anum. While Maliha is bent on steering slightly away from their usual florals, she reveals, “We tried to bring in a lot of different elements. It has been greatly inspired by imperialistic architecture and has an old world charm, whimsical flair, and candy colours. Our brand isn’t edgy and thus one can’t be too experimental.”



Both Farah and Maliha certainly understand the know-hows of striking a balance between the pretty and the feminine without veering towards safe and boring. “If you want a woman to be attracted to something, it should be beautiful. You have to respect your market – your aim should be that it should appeal to everyone,” says Maliha. For now, we’d have to wait until March to see whether the mother-daughter duo can translate their quintessential aesthetics to pret as easily as they can with heavier ensembles.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2016.

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