Meet the men who give these fashion big wheels a push

Up close and personal with the handsome young men behind fashion’s hot favourites Sania Maskatiya and Feeha Jamshed.

KARACHI:

The popular adage, “behind every successful man, there is a woman”, pays tribute to the less celebrated half in a man’s life. On International Women’s Day, we bring to light the two young men who have stood by their illustrious business partners through all their tears and joy.

Umair Tabani — Chief Financial Officer at Sania Maskatiya

“We fight a lot but we balance it out,” says Umair Tabani, referring to his younger sister and business partner, Sania Maskatiya. “Our fights are based on honest criticism. It doesn’t matter who ends up apologising first.”

A chartered accountant by profession with an undergraduate degree in Accounting and Finance from the London School of Economics, Tabani explains that he advised Maskatiya to construct a professional organisation when she started out three years ago. “I wasn’t supposed to be there full-time,” he says. “Before I knew it, we became business partners and our first outlet opened in February 2011. She was married and expecting her first baby then and I just got involved with her work.”

The brother-sister duo has grown up in a traditional Memon family where male dominance is perceived to be the norm, but Tabani feels it hasn’t affected the business. “Our relationship is very healthy. Our family and her in-laws have been supportive and our roles in the business are distinct,” he says, adding that education plays a big role in the equation. “I am two years older than Sania but she acts like a daadi amma so it may seem like she is older,” laughs the 31-year-old.



Tabani had been a possessive brother back in the day, but he feels the roles are now reversed. “I used to be very possessive earlier when Sania wasn’t married, but now she is the possessive one,” he smiles, adding that they grew up in a close-knit family and had a wonderful childhood. “I wouldn’t say that we are inseparable but when I find my better half, she would have to fit into our particular lifestyle.

Haider Ali Baig — Managing Director at Feeha Jamshed

Haider Ali Baig and Feeha Jamshed met at a beach party almost five years ago. Three years later, Jamshed, her fiance Nadir Zia and Baig were hanging out at BBQ Tonite when Baig decided to ask her why she doesn’t launch her own line of clothing. “She wasn’t too eager at first and then the family tragedy took place [with her sister’s untimely death]. Obviously everything takes a back seat to family. I was just being a good friend to her through those rough times,” says the 30-year-old, whose primary business is a tech firm called Future Technologies.

“We met again at the same spot a year later and that’s when I decided to re-start this discussion,” he continues. “With only two weeks at her disposal, she quickly made up her mind and decided to bring in ‘90s fashion on the ramp, while I was practically learning the business side of it as things were happening.”

Baig, who graduated from Oregon State University with a double degree in Computer Engineering and Computer Science, admits he is still learning the ropes of the business. But when asked if it’s tricky working so closely with his best friend’s fiancé, the investor says, “There could be a thousand ‘what ifs’ but worrying about it is never a good idea — I have never thought about it to be honest.” He adds, “The way I operate a business, it’s meant to be purely business.



“We are friends first and business partners second. Since we’ve been friends and have worked together for so long, we’ve devloped more of a brother-sister relationship,” Baig says. “We look out for each other and our vision for the label helps drive us forward — we are hungry to get out into the international scene.” At work, Feeha and Baig follow the business model and at social gatherings, they are buddies.

He admits that they have complete faith in each other and although they fight, it’s for constructive reasons. “There’s never a shouting match going on between us, not to say we don’t argue — it’s all meant for the best,” he laughs, adding that if people in any relationship don’t fight, then there is definitely something wrong. “We are quite blunt with each other.”

“Feeha is tenacious and competitive, not that I am any better — I am hyper competitive!” he laughs, adding that she is very caring at the same time. “But I am a much calmer person than her.”

He describes his lady love as an “ideal partner”. “She has to be someone who is completely unselfish. The girl that I am currently with, is my ideal partner.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2013.                   

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