The Royale Collection

Sobia Nazir’s lawn collection offers 25 designs.

KARACHI:

Islamabad-based designer Sobia Nazir has completed four years in the designer lawn industry with the launch of her latest collection. The designer’s Lawn Prints Collection 2011 was exhibited on Tuesday, March 8, at The Palms, near Beach Park in Karachi.

Busy at the cash counter, bagging the products for the customers and interacting with them was the very active Sobia Nazir.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Nazir said: “This is my fourth year into designing lawn prints. This year we have brought 25 designs in the market, with two colour wave options available in each print. [Hence], there are 50 prints available in my collection.”

Nazir’s new lawn collection called The Royal Collection has been divided into three different categories: Royale Nau’ratan, Royale Mirage and Royale Dynasty.

“The entire collection has been categorised into three different categories. All three cater to the market and the collection is priced from Rs2,599 to Rs3,899.”

Royale Nau’ratan brings a mixed fabric called cotton silk with chiffon dopattas. Royale Mirage features intricate prints with palettes of mustards, ferozi and maroon. Royale Dynasty comes with the option of cotton and chiffon dopattas.

Faiza Zeeshan, spotted at almost every lawn exhibition in town, has a wider perspective to compare the collections of various brands. About Sobia Nazir’s collection, she says: “This one is better than many others that I have visited, because prices are reasonable. More or less like J lawn collection.”

Beenish Omair found the designs different from conventional lawn prints: “I like her prints, which are offering something different to the market. So it’s nice.”

With four years in a row, isn’t it a tough task to maintain a specific clientele and Nazir adds: “It’s the fourth year and my collection has to look different every year, my colours are very vibrant this year and I try to keep up with the fast changing trends that struck the market.”

Though contrary to her high price-range, Nazir claims her collection is meant to cater to the majority based on the variety of designs. “My collection is for the masses. There is something for everyone. No heavy embellishments are there. I believe keeping this in mind, it is priced reasonably,” said the designer.

Talking about the quality of her fabrics, Nazir said: “This is the best quality of cotton fabric from Faisalabad. It’s a rich, silky fabric. For as many as six suits we have even provided chiffon dopattas which have been imported from India.”

How does she believe that the lawn business has spread over, keeping the four year perspective in mind, and she says: “[Generally, there is] much more awareness in the people, with so many brands which are now in the market. So, everybody is conscious about what they are wearing and who they are wearing.”

But doing lawn business is no easy task for Sobia Nazir who manages everything under her very own signature umbrella, clearly stating: “There is no mill owner behind me! I do everything on my own.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2011.