New clothes on the block

Model/actor Ayesha Omar and VJ Anoushey Ashraf’s new collection, Ayesha/Anoushey for Labels, is fun, fresh and funky.

KARACHI: Model and actor Ayesha Omar and VJ Anoushey Ashraf’s new collection, Ayesha/Anoushey for Labels, is fun, fresh and funky. Displayed at Labels in Karachi the clothes have been an immediate success and have almost sold out. Zahir Rahimtoola, owner of the store, said: “The collection been very well received, and with as many as 20 units on sale, most of the clothing has been sold.”

The target is 18 to 35 year-old women, the outfits range from Rs2000 to Rs4,500 and are representative of Omar and Ashraf’s personal style. Rahimtoola said that he told the designers that, “in this collection, what must come out must be you, [it must be] what you wear and [represent] your personality”.

Omar said, “We follow the philosophy, wear what looks good on your body type. Basically we are not label conscious people, we believe in a line that is good, comfortable and fun to wear. I myself like wearing a lot of colours, so it is colourful and floral prints. [The collection is] fun, affordable and can be worn everywhere, even with working women.

The collection represents the popular fashion in Pakistani society. When Labels began in 1996, it was purely western clothing store. “Nowadays more and more women are not showing an interest in western wear, and what you call Pakistani fusion wear is what is more acceptable,” said Rahimtoola. “So what we are trying to do is bring what you can call Pakistani fusion wear in our store, and this collection comprises of a levelled percentage of the Pakistan-western style,” he added.

The collection came about unexpectedly when Labels asked Omar and Ashraf to do a shoot for them, “Today, in Pakistan you see more of TV anchors, having huge fan following. [I believe] Anoushey is the first pure VJ of the country and Ayesha is an icon for the youth. They have huge fan following, and as they are youth icons, their market availability as a collection is important,” said Rahimtoola. Then Labels, “came up with the idea that why don’t you design clothes, every day clothes. So to begin with we started off with 20 pieces,” said Omar.

Omar believes that the line will be a success as it is different from other lines in a number of ways. “The pricing [sets us apart]; we shop a lot, to look for our stuff. Before, it was always seen that clothes are expensive, kurtas and tunics are expensive. But our line is fun and affordable one since we are not making bread and butter out of it. It is for people who look up to us, it is affordable, casual, colourful, fun and ready to wear.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2010.