Kamiar Rokni’s summer Bonanza

The designer follows Umar Sayeed and Deepak Perwani and associates his name with a lawn collection.

KARACHI: With lawn frenzy spreading like wild fire, more and more designers are collaborating with textile brands and adding fuel to the hype created by designer lawn. In 2011, we saw designers Deepak Perwani collaborating with Orient Textile Mills, Umar Sayeed with Al Karam and Shamaeel Ansari teaming up with Sitara Premium Lawn. This year, Bonanza has tied the knot with designer and fashion giant Kamiar Rokni for a designer lawn collection.

The Express Tribune spoke to Hanif Bilwani, CEO of Bonanza and designer Kamiar Rokni from The House of Kamiar Rokni about their merger and their new upcoming collection.

What are they offering?

Bonanza’s revamped design philosophy has already started to show in their trendy winter wear and chic formal and casual eastern ensembles.  The brand has been constantly trying to change its image and now, they have finally managed to bring an ace designer on board for their lawn collection. Bilwani, who has high hopes from this exclusive line, says, “This year Bonanza is offering 20 lawn prints with each print available in two colourways. We will also introduce exciting range of accessories to complement the collection. Since the basic element in lawn is colour and design, we have given special emphasis to these aspects in order to create something new.”

Fashion enthusiasts were hoping for such a creative liaison after The House of Kamiar Rokni made an impression with its colour blocking collection at the Sunsilk Pakistan Fashion Week last October. Bilwani says, “The team of The House of Kamiar Rokni has an amazing sense of colour and design and they also understand what women in this country want.”

Rokni’s experience

On the other hand, designing a lawn collection was not exactly a walk in the park for Rokni as the designer says, “What we found most challenging was striking the balance. To be true to your style yet offer a variety of prints that appeal to a very wide cross section of society requires some thought and planning. It is also challenging but imperative to keep the price point in mind as well.” Despite facing exclusive versus mass appeal dilemma, Rokni still seems satisfied with his design team’s performance. “We work very hard and try to innovate as much as we can and respect the desires of the market. A God given sense of colour and a touch of talent helped as well.”

When asked about the thought process that helped him finalise the designs for the collection, Rokni says, “It is very important to keep in mind that who is going to wear this, where will they wear it and how much will they pay for it?”

Designer lawn — more greed than need?

Despite the optimism of the design team, one wonders if the demand for expensive designer lawn will soon settle down. The two giants believe that the craze for this summer staple will survive if people and designers keep coming up with ways to reinvent the fabric. “This can happen only if lawn designs are available already stitched in many variations as a ready-to-wear product in different sizes. Lawn is certainly an economical way to have designer clothes in your closet.”

When asked if the designer tag attached to the lawn brand is only a marketing gimmick to sell the same old idea, Bilwani explains, “We just believe in providing the best designs and fabric to our clients. And after last year’s success of Bonanza’s in-house lawn collection, we can proudly say that it’s a winning strategy.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 17^th, 2012.