Rizwan Beyg: From the heart of a couturier

The designer who takes pride in catering to exclusive clients has forayed into lawn.

KARACHI:

For fashion designer Rizwan Beyg, ‘back to basics’ is the mantra to fame and one can see that he uses it wholeheartedly to his advantage. The fashion giant, who had moved on to exclusive couture, has announced his return in the lawn game after a gap of two years.

Beyg forayed into the fast growing lawn industry in 1995, when one of the textile leaders Jubliee Textile Industries Ltd approached him for a designer lawn collection. Since then he has been involved in designing for other textile mills too including the likes of Five Star Textiles, Saleem Fabric and even Sitara Premium Lawn. Now, in an interview with The Express Tribune, Beyg confessed that designing this summer staple was not really a walk in the park for him.

What made you come back to lawn?

For me, lawn has always been hit and miss, which is why I don’t treat it as my artistic focus. This year, my lawn collection will be with Al-Zohaib Textiles. A team of creative designers and I are experimenting with floral prints, Sindhi Ralli and Balochi embroidery. All of these prints will be embossed on the fabric and will hopefully turn out to be an edgy collection with an economical price.

Is there a possibility of lawn becoming the future of
pret wear?

Lawn has arrived and it comes under the category of pret wear because of the heavy price tag attached to it. However, cheap copies of expensive brands are eliminating class barriers and thanks to the absence of strict copyright laws, you will soon see people from different classes wearing the same prints. There will be no exclusivity because we don’t have proper laws to protect a designer’s intellectual property.

Do you prefer creative sensibility over discipline and dedication?

I believe a combination of both is required. If you are not disciplined to run your own show, there is no use of showing and proving that you have some sort of talent.

What is the most challenging aspect of being a designer?

I think the most challenging aspect of being a designer is the need to be innovative every single time. It’s such a competitive world and we have to make our collections indigenous no matter what. And now that every Tom, Dick and Harry is a designer and the market is cluttered with lame apparel choices, the chances of deserving designers doing well are narrower than ever. I think it’s the customer’s job to educate themselves and make the right choices.

Out of all your ventures, if only one could survive, which one would you choose?

I would want couture to survive. I have the heart of a couturier. Industrialisation has chucked the art of customisation and the beauty of personal touch in art out of the window. But I am happy on my little island, producing personalised artsy ensembles. But when I feel like doing something for the masses, I do lawn.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 23^rd, 2012.