A new line of clothing inspired by the Mughal Era

Zohra Alam exhibited her digital printed collection.

KARACHI:

Zohra Alam showcased her first collection of digital prints, inspired by the Mughal era, on Friday and Saturday on Bukhari Commercial in DHA, opposite to Sania Maskatiya’s place.

“I was always inspired by the Mughal era and its poetry — history was one subject I loved the most in school,” said Alam, a focused housewife and a mother of two determined to make a name for herself amongst the innovative and intrepid designers of Pakistan.

Her edgy collection contains a wide array of colours and exclusive digital prints with stitched outfits priced at approximately Rs10,500 and unstitched at Rs8,500. On the first day of her exhibition, Alam was overwhelmed with the love and appreciation she received from strangers. “I never thought so many people would turn up but Facebook is a blessing in disguise,” she said, pleased with the positive response. “I just posted about the event and so many people came to check out my collection and appreciated my work.”

Commenting on what inspired her to work on digital prints and how it all started, she said that she owes it all to her supportive family and in-laws who allowed her to follow her passion for designing and “love for clothes”. She knew that it was “now or never” that she would be able to follow her dreams so she started to sketch designs about six months ago. “With a sketchbook in hand, I drew images of the Mughals and today I have used ten of these prints in a very classy way,” she added.

Finding solace in sketching, “I thought I could go into digital printing — I wasn’t following a herd as I knew two things before-hand: this was a niche market I was targeting and the Mughal aspect would only look good on digital prints.” Alam doesn’t have a degree in fashion designing but firmly believes that it’s purely her passion which has paved the way to reach her dreams today.

When asked whether the concept of digital prints is a common phenomenon in the global market or if it’s only been able to cater to a small segment and how this applies to Pakistan, she said: “I have heard that it’s really picked up in India and I hope it certainly has or develops a base here in Pakistan, as well.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2012.

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