Boasting of an innate flair for motifs, Zainab Mushtaq, a textile designer, launched her clothing line six months ago. Designing clothes for family and friends inspired her to go commercial with her work.
Mushtaq has dabbled in some freelance designing in Dubai and is currently exhibiting three collections at L’atelier. The 30 pieces on display comprise cottons, party wear and traditional formals.
“Life cannot exist without colour, and for me colour always stands out,” said Mushtaq. Even though the tones are vibrant as she uses the entire colour palatte in her exhibit, the quality of design is very average. The designs lack innovation but are sellable because the cuts and motifs are already available in the market.
There are two unique aspects in the exhibition, one being the textile design and second the re-emergence of Kashmiri embroidery into mainstream fashion. Mushtaq designs her own fabric, which gives her some edge over the run-of-the mill fabrics.
However, the cuts and embellishments are nothing new.
A graduate of the National College of Arts, she takes pride in the originality of textile. Minimalist fashion trends are being introduced by designers across the board, and it will be refreshing to see newer designers taking these trends a notch up.
The exhibit saw a generous turnover, the afternoon chatter buzzed with talks of summer holidays and Ramazan. Overall, the collection might have a niche market for a certain clientele, but to make it big in the industry, Mushtaq needs more innovation in her design concept.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 18th, 2011.
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