Women can do business too: Modern meets traditional in a festival of colours

Mehwish and Sahar are confident that their clothing line will flourish.

SUKKUR:

Mehwish Hussain Hakro and Sahar Najib Lakho, young entrepreneurs of Sukkur, are confident their brainchild, Mehsahs Collection, will give established designer boutiques a run for their money as the duo believes their products have struck a chord with buyers.

Once you have sensed the demand as well as sentiments of consumers and provide them with what they’re after, there’s no stopping you, say both the young entrepreneurs.

Whether or not Mehsahs Collection will enjoy the kind of success Mehwish and Sahar have hoped for, the infectious belief they have in their venture makes you wish it does. Both young women are enrolled in the MBA in human resources programme at the Institute of Business and Administration (IBA), Sukkur. While studying entrepreneurship and e-business, Mehwish and Sahar decided to try out what they had learned and took a chance with Mehsahs Collection.

It all started when Mehwish grew tired of donning the same black gown each day and decided to be a little adventurous. She decided to design a few colourful gowns for herself. “Besides feeling a positive change in myself, my dresses were appreciated by my fellow students,” she said. “I sat down with Sahar and discussed the feasibility of the project and this is how Mehsahs Collection - ‘Meh’ from Mehwish and ‘Sah’ from Sahar - was born.”

A market was available for them to exploit as the campus had witnessed a growing trend of pardah and Eastern clothing. “Both of us started designing hijabs, scarfs, pouches and handmade shoes and slippers,” Mehwish told The Express Tribune.

But it was not easy as it sounds. Both Sahar and Mehwish struggled to find the right balance between their coursework and business. “But as the saying goes, when there is a will there’s a way,” said Mehwish. “We put in a lot of effort and with the encouraging and supporting attitude of our teachers and the administration, we have managed to come this far and display our work,” added Sahar. The second obstacle they faced was finances - their family provided them with some money and they also took interest-free loans from IBA.

The girls won’t rest on their laurels and are quite willing to go the extra mile to ensure their products don’t lose their appeal. “The selection of materials to make cultural wear is very difficult because we have to make something different from traditional fabrics,” Mehwish said. “We buy the fabric for our shirts and frocks from Hala while shoes and slippers are prepared in Lahore.”

Sahar said that the fact that they are both from Sukkur allows them to sit and discuss ideas and designs, which are then executed by a girl who does not wish to be named. “The current crop of university students considers traditional dresses from the rural areas old-fashioned. We have tried to give a modern touch to them and it seemed to have worked.” The girls hoped that e-business will help their venture flourish and pave the way for others to follow them. “We have tried to keep our tradition and culture alive by lending it a modern touch.

Our unique ideas will spark freshness in the otherwise plain hijabs and scarves. Besides, our products are very affordable, ranging from Rs200 to Rs3,000.”

Mehwish and Sahar expressed their gratitude to IBA officials, particularly Kamran Shaikh and Farrukh, who helped them with graphic designing and came up with the logo for Mehsahs Collection.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 28^th, 2013.