The Designers beckons Eid shoppers in Karachi, Dubai

The multi-brand store attracted an enthusiastic crowd in both cities.

It is evident that women in Dubai are on the prowl for the perfect Eid jora, much like the ladies in Pakistan. To cater to the large number of Pakistanis in the Emirate, multi-brand store The Designers showcased the collections of a number of designers including renowned names such as Ayesha Hashwani, Sonya Battla, Mina Hassan, Zainab Sajid, Rizwan Beyg, Body Focus and upcoming stars such as Saira Rizwan and Uzma Hai.

Speaking about her Dubai collection, designer Wardha Saleem said: “Eid is all about fun, frolic, festivities and colour. All these elements are represented in my Eid collection. We have used fun colours and worked in a good amount of gold in block printing and embroidery. We have a really fun part to the collection which encompasses unique motifs like dolls and fish. We also have a section of separates, which is the more traditional and sophisticated part of the collection.”

The way the ladies poured into the store to rummage through one rack after the other, it seemed that the Eid exhibition-hopping trend in Dubai is much the same as it is in Pakistan.

“Having expanded in Pakistan, I am now keen to promote Pakistani fashion designers abroad and this Dubai store is just the first step in this direction,” said Asad Tareen, the CEO of the store. “I am hoping to open up more international stores focusing on Pakistani fashion designers.”

Karachi saw a similar crowd, where The Designers exhibited the collections of 11 designers. TV personalities Anoushey Ashraf, Ayesha Omar, Madiha Iftikhar and Hina Bayat modeled some outfits given to them by different designers. “This is Umsha’s collection,” said Hina Bayat, pointing to her jora. “I am wearing it for the first time and hopefully not the last!”

Anoushey Ashraf carried a Krizmah clutch with her Aisha Alam’s creation, while Ayesha Omar and Madiha Iftikhar both wore outfits by Umsha.

Present at the event, Tareen said the idea behind the event was to generate excitement before Eid and have a vast collection to choose from.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2012.