Anoushey Ashraf launches new venture

Anoushey Ashraf has launched Block Seven with two partners, Natasha Qizilbash and Zain Saeed.

KARACHI: Television host Anoushey Ashraf’s latest venture, Block Seven, took Karachi by storm on Sunday.

The venture comprised an exhibition at Karachi’s The Forum mall of casual, funky clothes. The venture is a collaborative effort by Anoushey Ashraf, her sister Natasha Qizilbash and their close friend, Zain Saeed.

According to Saeed, the three-day exhibit, “is in testing phase” because Block Seven will launch “as a store after Muharram” adds Ashraf.

When asked why this particular name was chosen, Ashraf said, “We thought of a lot of names and even short-listed a few. Then we saw that people come up names like Fifth Avenue and Nine West, and we thought why not Block Seven because that is where I live!”

The trio has decided to stick to western clothes because, “We believe that when it comes to good western wear, there is a dearth of availability. Eastern clothes are easily available but western party and formal clothes are nowhere to be found.”

“The clothes have all been manufactured abroad, mainly from countries like Turkey, China, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia,” said Saeed. The price range is affordable - tops were priced between Rs1,200 and Rs5,000. Block Seven is catering primarily to people who enjoy wearing western clothes and “for people who travel a great deal”, said Saeed. The target audience is women aged 17 to 35.

Block Seven advertised itself through social networking website like Facebook and for now, “We plan to market our line by allowing our customers to place their orders online and we will arrange for their order to be delivered to their door step anywhere in Pakistan,” said Saeed.

In the future, Saeed says, “We plan to place ourselves in a mall as people are generally interested in a complete shopping experience, away from the hustle and bustle of Zamzama, which I believe is too crowded.”

While Block Seven is currently only offering western apparel, the venture will expand. Saeed says, “We can’t ignore western wear but we plan to capitalise on eastern wear. Our eastern collection will be out when the shop launches and the collection will be designed and manufactured solely in Pakistan.” Ashraf plans to place her own label, Ayesha/Anoushey, under the same banner once the boutique opens.

The flagship store will be in Karachi, which will be followed by stores in Lahore and Islamabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 16^th, 2010.