Urban fashion at Block 7

Brainchild of Anoushay Ashraf, ‘Block Seven’ procures garments that correspond to global trends.

LAHORE:

Anoushay Ashraf has been a household name for pioneering what it meant to be a video jockey in Pakistan. From Indus Television to MTV, Ashraf made her mark as ‘the’ anchor for music programmes. Now that fashion is kicking up a storm in the country, she is successfully making a transition into this new foray.

She recently became a L’oreal brand ambassador — a great addition to the French brand that finally has a face that masses can relate to. Also, last year she and VJ-turned -actor friend Ayesha Omar launched their brand of fun desi clothing self-titled ‘AyeshaAnoushay’ at Labels. Icons in their own right, both women teamed up with the design forces at Labels and launched a line of clothing that exemplified their own lifestyle, one that many young working women could relate to: ‘contemporary desi’ and fun that would allow the urban woman to flit easily from the workplace to her social soirees.

Taking a cue from this perhaps, Ashraf launched yet another brand titled ‘Block Seven’ with her sisters Natasha Qizalbash and Alizeh Ashraf. The sister-act however, is focused on providing causal western wear for young women. Why such an unusual name? ‘Block Seven’. “That’s where I live in Karachi and that’s the location where this idea germinated,” explains Ashraf who said her elder sister wanted to do something like this for a while but never really got down to it, till now.

Ask her if she’s hopped onto the designer band-wagon, Ashraf responds “Well let’s be honest,” she says in her usual endearing candid style. “We are not designers. We are just procuring these garments from places like Thailand, Phillipines and Turkey.” Priced from Rs900 to Rs4,500, the brand carries causal cool tops that correspond to global trends like ruffles, or the 80s grunge look with over sized shirts and floral embellished hippie kurta’s. “We keep talking about how there’s a dearth of options for the urban woman but nobody really gets down to finding a solution,” says Qizalbash, who has not only herself to worry about but also her giddy 15 year old daughter who has countless social activities to dress for on a regular basis.

The brand began to market itself via social networking and managed to sell in places like Australia and Abu Dhabi. People would choose from the pictures that were put up and ordered as they wished and they couriered. “I deliberately used models of varying sizes so that women who are not pencil thin can gauge if a garment would fit them or not,” said Qizalbash. The brand plans on using e-commerce more effectively in the future, but at the moment it is touring cities holding exhibitions as they are aiming to establish a store in Karachi- the ultimate home of urban street wear.

Like all little haunts that offer eclectic street wear ‘Block Seven’ is just as much of a treasure trove. This is fashion that is off the street, with a cosmopolitan buzz but one that you can only wear if you have flair and original style. Although the brand does carry staples like ‘jeggings’ and leggings and basic funky tees, solid style is a must for those who venture to it.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2011.