Lifestyle: Embracing the capital

Karachi’s ultimate high-street fashion time-piece house makes its way in glittering fashion to Islamabad.

ISLAMABAD: The ultimate high-street fashion house of Karachi has made its way to Islamabad. Lifestyle from Karachi has opened its first store at Islamabad’s fashion block, Beverly Centre. When Cartier, Chopard, Patek Philppe and the evergreen Rolex have become too expensive, it’s time to turn to cheaper alternatives.

Lifestyle brings a wide selection of Gucci, Movado, TAG Heuer, Baume & Mercier and Guess as cheaper yet fashionable alternatives to extravagant time-pieces. Hamza Saeed, owner of Lifestyle, upon talking to The Express Tribune said: “People from Islamabad are our valued customers in Karachi. Politicians, bureaucrats and industrialists alike buy their watches from us and therefore we decided to launch in Islamabad before Lahore.”

After 14 years of a successful operation in Karachi the fashion house is now in  Islamabad under the guidance of Rez Aly Shah of Rezz Events.

Even though the event was a little crammed, the evening saw a mix that saw industrialists, politicians and socialites alike. Talking to The Express Tribune, Rez said: “We need brand ambassadors and therefore all the models here today will be promoting the label. Anything happening in Islamabad is a positive sign as it is the capital city, which makes it my prerogative to ensure that each event is razzling and dazzling.”

In attendance was Rauf Alam of Alam Store, Ittehad Steel Mills owner Khalid Javed and Qamar Zaman Kaira.

As the socialites and models nibbled on hors d’oeuvres by Cinnamon, much talk fluttered around the venue regarding who was wearing who with an occasional glance on each others’ wrists to sneak a quick peak as to what the rest of the crowd was wearing did not go unnoticed.

The mother-of-pearl dials adorned with diamonds attracted the older crowd while the chunky and a bit tacky collection by Guess attracted youngsters. Ceramic dials and chunky straps of some of the Guess watches resonated Chanel J-12 at a much cheaper price. Movado’s understated elegance and chic exuded class and beauty and remained one of the hot favourites to be visited.

The store caters to the demands for the wide array of clients. People willing to spend between $200 and $1500 have something to look forward to. It is always a hassle to decide what to buy for men but the reasonable collection available adds another option on the block as those anniversaries and birthdays roll in.

Qamar Zaman Kaira, said: “This is a great addition to Islamabad. It is a growing city and it is great to see successful stores opening up their outlets near us.”

“This day and age is more about fashion and expressing yourself rather than practicality of an item. Lifestyle provides that outlet where one can buy a new accessory because at the end of the day who you’re wearing does matter.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2011.