Embellishing fashion with cricket

Stoneage launches exclusive cricket line for men inspired by the World Cup.

LAHORE: If there is one religion in Pakistan that has an un-ebbing following without any contest it is cricket.

And as the World Cup fever picks up in Pakistan with nothing short of religious zeal, associated industries get in line to benefit from it. But there’s another industry that has finally realised the potential of cricket and leaped in to get its share and that is retail; the one retail brand that has shown constant evolution with the times is Stoneage.

From fashion to music alliances, it has shown no qualms about stepping into unchartered territories and sought collaborations to strengthen its brand’s image and consumer base.

As the World Cup kicks off in Sri Lanka next week Stoneage will be launching an exclusive limited edition cricket line for men inspired by the occasion. “Our collective love for cricket has compelled us to design this line,” says Moazzam Iqbal the Design Manager for men at Stone Age. This line of tee shirts, button down causal shirts, chinos, denims, blazers and track suits are all created within a colour pallete consisting of blue, green and white and still the play of designs and accents with such a limited pallete has turned out to be quite impressive.

The forest green chinos, for instance, make for a great fashion statement for the audacious man who isn’t afraid of standing out. The tee shirts have shrewdly articulated images from the game with ball deliveries, bouncers and other glorious moments in cricket history and are posited with catchy slogans.

“Nobody has done this kind of thing,” says Marketing Manager, Daanish Naeem with pride. Truly the creativity employed in creating such a line is laudable; special emblems with a Pakistan logo for the blazers and some tee shirts is quite ingenious. Even the semi formal/casual shirts with logos and accents are great for young working men whose corporations would probably soon be hosting World Cup related events.

The catalogue for the cricket line has also been shot in a very intelligent manner at the Cricket Musuem in the Lahore Gymkhana.

“Even the Pakistan Cricket Board doesn’t have a museum. This place even has souvenirs from Sir Don Braidman. We got special permission to shoot our look book here,” added Naeem. A classic shot shows four young men leaping in the air demonstrating the camaraderie and the brotherhood that cricket creates within the nation uniting friends and foe alike in their passion for the game.

Like their previous campaigns, Stoneage has yet again employed the use of viral marketing via Facebook to hunt for models for their cricket look book.

Why not use a cricket celebrity for endorsement though? “We are a brand that is for the youth and because of the youth we want to keep our project promoting fresh talent instead of using established names,” justifies Naeem.

With tee shirts priced at Rs850 and the shirts atRs 1450, the brand has also released an entire range of accessories that include stylish shoes, track suits caps and bags. Since the passion for cricket is an unending one, this collection is bound to have an eternal charm and appeal with consumers. One can only wish that other fashion retailers begin to think in a similar direction and capitalise on such a momentous occasion.

Also with rumours afresh of Imran Khan soon hosting a celebrity match at Gaddafi Staudium in Lahore, perhaps fashion retailers like Stoneage should leap at the offer and design track suits for the celebrity teams playing.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2011.