HSY opens up about his difficult childhood and learning to fend for himself

Fashion designer and television personality Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, popularly known as HSY, revealed that he completely lost his eyesight in both eyes for nearly a year, an experience that left him in deep depression and changed the way he experienced life.

In a recent interview with Frieha Altaf, HSY spoke candidly about losing his vision, the difficult circumstances of his childhood, being raised by his mother after his parents’ divorce, his complicated relationship with his father and the struggles he faced before establishing himself in Pakistan’s fashion industry.

He also reflected on his mother’s sacrifices, his early years of working different jobs and his plans to launch a separate ready-to-wear brand.

Losing his eyesight

HSY recalled that the incident that led to the loss of his eyesight happened while he was returning from getting food with his best friend.

“One day we were sitting and we were all fasting, and we thought, ‘Let’s get food.’ We went to get food and were coming back. My best friend was driving the car, and we were listening to the azaan. When I took my bag, the steam came out and blocked everything. When he cleaned the screen, he swerved off the road. I lost my eyesight in both my eyes,” he said.

The sudden loss of his eyesight had a profound effect on him. With his vision gone, he found himself relying heavily on his other senses. “When your eyes go, your other senses grow. I used to hear my mom crying from four rooms away as if she was near me,” he said.

His eyesight remained affected for nearly a year before he eventually sought treatment. He later underwent multiple surgeries with the support of the Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust (LRBT). “I gave myself up as a surgical case to LRBT, and they helped me get my eyesight back.”

The experience eventually led to an enduring association with the organisation. “Today, I am a global ambassador for an eye hospital. I had 14 surgeries performed on me,” he said.

The mother who shaped his ambition

HSY also spoke about a childhood shaped by his mother. He shared that he was born in Islamabad into a family with connections to politics and the armed forces, but his parents’ early separation led to a difficult upbringing.

“I was born in Islamabad. My father’s side and my mom’s side were both connected to politics and the armed forces. My parents got divorced when I was two, and we left Pakistan. It was very hard for my mom to raise me alone. It was more difficult for her because she had grown up in a relaxed, luxurious life,” he added.

He spent much of his childhood in New York City, where his mother worked multiple jobs to support him. “She ran away, and I spent most of my life in New York City with an incredible mom.”

For HSY, watching his mother rebuild her life became one of the biggest sources of his ambition.

“The reason for my ambition is my mom and the difficulties she went through, which I saw — a woman who had never done anything like that before, doing four jobs. I used to see times when I wouldn’t see her the whole day.”

His mother worked wherever she could, from babysitting and working at a petrol station to serving as a secretary and working in a store. “She was babysitting, working in a gas station, working as a secretary or working in a store. Any job, whether it was big or small, my mom was my mom. She was my hero.”

HSY’s sister was also initially with him, but the siblings were separated when they were young. “My sister was with me, but not for long. We got separated when I was around four or five and she was nine or ten. She had gone to England. I hadn’t seen her for eight years, and I was alone.”

Much of what he learned, he said, came from observing the people around him and figuring things out himself. “I don’t necessarily remember learning from a specific person. It was like learning on the job. I used to see my friends shave, so I would start shaving. If there was a way to eat, I’d learn it.”

His experiences also shaped his approach to independence. “I live a positive life because I don’t expect anything from people. I think if you want to do something, do it yourself.”

Despite everything he experienced, HSY said he considered himself fortunate. “I am also very lucky. Allah gave me a lot,” he said.

Working his way up

Before becoming a fashion designer, HSY said he was willing to take on whatever work was available.

“I used to teach English when I was 15. Later, I would go and knock on people’s doors, saying, ‘I’ll teach you English.’ I even worked as a cashier in Lahore. I’ve picked up wood. I used to come to places on a rickshaw. Getting Rs30 was a lot for me at the time.”

He said he never viewed any of those jobs as something that made him less than anyone else.

“Whether I worked somewhere small or whatever, I didn’t think less of myself because my mother was not less than anyone else. Whether she was a tutor or doing something smaller, she was respected. She was working and raising me.”

That perspective, he said, came directly from watching his mother.

His complicated relationship with his father

HSY also opened up about his relationship with his father, describing it as complicated and saying the relationship eventually became distant. “My father — the end with him was not good, which is why I don’t speak much about him.”

He said his mother never encouraged him to resent his father. “My mother never said anything bad about him. She just told me about him and said he would ask about me when I was younger and wanted me back.”

When HSY returned to Pakistan at 16, his father offered for him to stay with him, but by then he had already grown up with his mother.

“My mother wanted to raise me. But my dad was in a position where, when I came back to Pakistan at 16, he said I could come to him. But I didn’t really want that. I had grown up with my mother.”

HSY said his father had not contributed to his education or upbringing, although there was a point when he himself asked his father for financial assistance. “When I was 35 or 36, he called me. He had become paralysed after a stroke and had lost all his money and his ability to take care of himself.”

It was his mother who encouraged him to help his father despite their past. “Then my mom told me, ‘Maybe he hasn’t done anything for you, but he is your father and you’ll regret it later for not helping him. So thank Allah that you can help him.’”

HSY said he ultimately supported his father for 15 years, an experience that changed his understanding of their relationship. “I helped him for 15 years, and in those years I gained the understanding that each person doesn’t have everything, and every human being isn’t perfect or capable of being a father.”

Finding his way into fashion

HSY’s entry into the fashion industry was far from conventional. With limited access to established circles, he decided to approach magazines himself.

“We used to have six or so magazines, and I sent them handwritten letters. I said, ‘You don’t know me. I’m sending you some work. If you can print them, I’ll be a big designer in Pakistan.’”

His persistence paid off. “Out of seven, five of them took my covers,” he shared.

He soon began receiving calls from some of the most recognisable names in the country. “My first phone calls were from Tahira Syed and Babra Sharif.”

While couture remained a significant part of his career, HSY revealed that he was preparing to enter the ready-to-wear space with a separate brand.

“I’m about to launch a ready-to-wear brand, and I’m excited about it. It’s going to be separate from HSY. I’ve always been into couture, but ready-to-wear is a space that also requires direction,” he shared.

He also spoke about the need for greater structure within Pakistan’s fashion industry, particularly when it came to shows and schedules. “There need to be the right shows. I feel like right now everything is all over the place. We need to bring things back and bring people down to a schedule.”

For HSY, the journey to becoming a household name was shaped by far more than fashion. From watching his mother work multiple jobs and learning to fend for himself from a young age, to losing his eyesight and rebuilding his life, his story was inseparable from the person behind the public name.

His experiences remain an important part of how he sees himself today. “If people are judging you, don’t judge them. I think you should tell people every single thing about you. You’re a whole human being of experiences,” he concluded.