Fashionistas step up for flood relief

Maheen Khan’s ready-to-wear label, Gulabo, is pitching in with flood relief efforts that have drawn in most of the fashion industry, which has been busy organising fundraising drives, sales and auctions to raise money for flood victims.

Gulabo is offering bags which cost Rs50 each and bear a map of Pakistan and slogans such as ‘Your country needs you’ and ‘Help fight poverty one bag at a time’.

All proceeds will go to a relief fund set up by the label.

The multi-label store Ensemble organised a sale and a qawwali evening earlier this month in Karachi to support flood victims, and earlier this week a percentage of proceeds from Nida Azwer’s one-day exhibition of her Jamdani collection also went to flood relief efforts.

Gulabo’s flagship store is opening at Park Towers on September 2. The mall houses several fashion labels including Deepak Perwani, Khaadi and Khaadi Khas, Amir Adnan, Fnk Asia and the multi-label store PFDC Boulevard. Given that it caters to a completely different target market and builds on its trademark - introducing truck art into high street fashion - Gulabo may not take away much traffic from the established stores in the mall.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2010.