Fashion fraternity and restaurant owners get charitable

KARACHI:

The Abbas Town tragedy on Sunday night not only stirred the emotions of Karachi’s citizens, but also struck a chord in the hearts of many within the fashion fraternity and restaurant business. The two industries have joined hands to raise funds for the families affected by the blast.

Fashion writer Mohsin Sayeed tells The Express Tribune, “We held a meeting on Tuesday and decided that we will do what we can for the victims of this tragedy.”

As a result of this huddle, the event Fashion for a Cause was born, and is expected to take place on March 8 at the House of Ensemble. Owner of the House of Ensemble Zeba Hussain says, “We plan to donate 10 % of all sales and services from Ensemble’s flagship store to One by Ensemble, Ensemble Home, Ensemble Salon in Karachi and Ensemble Lahore on that day. The amount collected will go to the Abbas Town victims.”

Designer Nomi Ansari is also part of the upcoming event. He says, “I’ve donated more than a 100 unstitched suits already and plan to give more. Whatever amount of money we raise from our sales, we plan to give a percentage of that to the victims.”

Fashion doyenne Maheen Khan is also participating in the event. “This is the time to raise money. They need cash the most. I plan on putting my collection of 40 outfits on sale with 40 % discount on them at The House of Ensemble,” says Khan.

Model Cybil Chowdhry is from Lahore, but is all for helping the victims of this tragedy. “The donations will be accepted in cash or by cheque. We plan to sell as many clothes as we can,” she says.

Restaurants are planning to raise donations for the victims of the blast over the weekend and also directly by selling gift vouchers at Fashion for a Cause this Friday.

Hassan Baweja of Chinese restaurant Gin Soy says, “We are donating a percentage of our Saturday sales to the victims. We will also be selling gift vouchers on Friday at the Fashion for a Cause event; the money that will be collected will be going directly into the donation box. These vouchers are valid indefinitely.”

Aman Virji from Forty4 will also be selling vouchers worth Rs20,000 at the event.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 7^th, 2013.

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