Fashion retail in Pakistan seems to have finally taken the ecological route with fashion councils, designers and retailers looking inwards to protect local craft and educate the market on ‘going green’.
A recent initiative that has opened its doors to the public is the quaint store Shubinak. The brand carries a collection of kurtas, tops, bags, scarves and cushions, all sporting Chitral’s distinctive embroidery.
The word ‘shubinak’ means ‘spider’, or the loom, in Chitral’s Khowar language. “A spider is a textile mill in itself. Using the spider as a metaphor, we want to create a web of loops that will spread our message in a manner that is unobtrusive to nature and society,” said Moiz Farooq, the CEO of Shubinak.
Chitral has suddenly emerged as the place to procure traditional craft from and has gained much popularity with fashion-based projects such as Polly&Me and Krizmah — two companies that are creatively using hand-embroidered bags, accessories and tapestries narrating folk tales from Chitral.
Sumaira and Moiz Farooq, the people behind Shubinak, call their brand a “social enterprise system directed at bringing change”. This is achieved by creating a sustainable supply chain mechanism that can empower the artisans in Chitral without disrupting the patterns of their social life. Despite the fact that Chitrali society is far more liberal than other villages, and claims ‘har chumoto har hunar’ (every finger is laden with skill), there is always the fear that women may be asked to stop working on commercial ventures if it interferes with their household duties.
Because the brand believes in the “importance of the journey and not the destination”, they have made a serious effort to educate their patrons through their ‘Shubinak Attitude’ (a tablet that hangs inside the store defining what it means to be eco-friendly). It suggests that inconsistency in the product designs should not be seen as an error. Instead, it makes them unique and tells the tale of a craftsman’s life. This is an important lesson since many large-scale manufacturers who try to work with artisans are agonised because their pieces are not identical.
The store itself, a raw and rustic haven lined with whole-shelled walnuts, has its own tale. “The height of the store’s walls and ceilings are constructed to depict the wisdom of architecture and planning in Chitral. This structure is earthquake and land slide proof because of the interlocking and overlapping of wood panels that creates a criss-cross like dome,” explained Farooq. He further elaborated that the centre table made of raw wood is a replica of the artisans work stations and is completely reusable. The stones that line the store’s premises are hand-chiselled in Taxila, and the walnut implies the significance of the walnut tree, which is central to life in Chitral as a source of construction material, food and natural dyes for fabrics.
A catalogue made from recycled paper sits on the work station, handwritten and replete with pictures, akin to a handcrafted Chitrali encyclopedia.
As Farooq said, “We wanted to create a benchmark: A brand that goes beyond the people who have created it and establish a system that can become a part of people’s lives.”
There are hardly any stores that offer an educational experience along with shopping as does Shubinak, and that itself is a reason to visit the store. Although at the onset it seems that like most concept stores and this too will be a bit heavy on the pocket, Shubinak pleasantly surprises one with its range of men’s two piece shalwar kameez for Rs3,500-Rs4,000 in pure organic cotton and Rs2,500-Rs3,500 for women’s tops.
“This cushion,” points out Farooq’s wife and creative director Sumaira, “is priced at Rs2,500 and is the entire month’s salary and work of one female artisan.” Gulp. While this guilt trip is reason enough to venture into the store, the products have the strength to lure you to keep coming back.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 19th, 2011.
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