Size does matter

A new multi-label store housing 40 designer brands is launched in Lahore.

LAHORE: With fashion on an all time high, the concept of the multi-label store has also faced a sudden explosion. Labels in Karachi may have pioneered the trend more than a decade ago, but with the fashion councils firmly establishing their tentacles on the business of fashion, they each now have their own self titled stores to boot: Fashion Pakistan Lounge and PFDC The Boulevard.

In came a franchise from across the border as Ensemble and yet another store with roots in Karachi, The Designers. The idea of a multi-brand store may appear run of the mill to many, yet the room for expansion still exists, and it is on this leap of faith that Ali Raza of the brand ‘Crimson’, gave his multi tiered store a complete over haul to accommodate an impressive list of 40 designers from Karachi and Lahore. From creative maestros like Athar and Sabeen and Ali Xeeshan to stalwarts like Rizwan Beyg, Portfolio is an ambitious undertaking of a vast stock of fashion’s crop.  “I am not a designer,” says Raza.

“I am a business man and understand that in every industry there are certain models for success. For fashion at the moment, the business model of the multi label store is it. There are 10 million people in Lahore and just two multi-label stores. So, room for expansion certainly exists.” While it seems that this ubiquitous business model may implode, something as basic and key as location may become the cornerstone to success for Portfolio. “It’s all about the quantity of designers showcased and how one can control the quality of their output that will determine the success for any store,” says Raza.

So far none of the multi- label stores are situated at the heart of MM Alam road. The new Vogue Towers is boasting of opening soon.

Its chic and sprawling interiors, along with a selection of designers that offer a wide selection of causal and formal pret, with a designated section for men’s ‘sherwani’s’, Portfolio is set to be a trousseau mall unto itself. “We are just making the market more competitive by creating a space where designers will rub shoulders with all kinds of talent young and old. Whosoever can impress a buyer with their product and price will sell,” says Raza. “It’s all about providing the perfect product in a stimulating environment.”

Yet what is remarkable is that someone as young and raw as Ali Xeeshan was single handedly managing Raza’s previous enterprise ‘Crimson’. While formerly the brand occupied the premises entirely, it will now just have its own upper level.

Such trust in the capabilities of a novice is quite surprising. “Xeeshan can handle my team better than I can,” explains Raza, adding astutely that there will be no conflict of interest and design, citing the examples of Karl Lagerfield for ‘Chanel’ and Tom Ford for ‘Gucci’, who managed both tasks dexterously. Raza intends to launch Ali Xeeshan ‘properly’ he says, after the hooplah of the upcoming PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week dies down.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 22^nd, 2011.