Retail stores become fashion conscious

Retail brands in Pakistan setting fashion trends according to international standards.

LAHORE: There are such few fashion retail brands and outlets in Pakistan that you can literally count them on one’s fingers.

Yet in spite of being so few and far between, these brands, be it Stoneage, Riverstone, Outfitters or CrossRoads, are very diligent about keeping up with international fashion trends and creating brand awareness through regular shoots adorned on billboards.

Last year Stoneage took the fashion angle more seriously by collaborating with HSY, a brand known for its exquisite bridals. The alliance saw a whole new look for Stoneage replete with an exciting high end fashion shoot and a new product line of winter essentials. Although that alliance was a onetime only event, it was a smart business move that made high end fashion more accessible to the public. Those who wish to own a piece of HSY could now do so at Stoneage prices.

Such alliances are not new to the fashion world and began with retail giant H&M enlisting Madonna to design for them, while Top Shop did the same with supermodel Kate Moss.

One witnessed an alliance, albeit not of similar weight age, but significant nonetheless, as popular and ecce-ntric stylist Asmaa Mumtaz dressed some 50 odd young boys and girls at CrossRoads. The retail brand is hosting a week long campaign in the main metropolises of the country: Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi, where Mumtaz will travel and offer her expertise for two hours, during which customers can walk in and get their entire winter wardrobe styled by her.

“I am really excited that a brand as reputable and diverse as CrossRoads took such an initiative. They have an excellent and fun product range that extends from clothes to bags to shoes. It was refreshing and exciting to see that even boys came up to me to get their wardrobe woes sorted,” said Mumtaz.

It is heartening to see retail brands up the ante for fashion in the country with events such as these. Over the weekend yet another retail brand, Riverstone hosted a fashion show at their new store on MM Alam Road. Although the show was conducted in the most minimal way possible using amateur models, it served its purpose.

Firstly it showcased all of Riverstone’s new winter line for both men and women, and secondly and most importantly, by using models of all sizes and shapes, it demonstrated that their brand does not cater only to those who conform to the ‘size zero’ phenomenon.

Since many women even today, shy away from wearing western clothing, it was an important message for Riverstone to send out to its diverse clientele. It is about time that retail brands, which are the real engines for high street fashion the world over, take fashion changes seriously and reach out in this manner.

Holding fashion shows with their in house products or getting celebrity stylists to prop up customers’ wardrobes is a timely and prudent measure taken and one hopes that brands continue to move in this direction to push forward the business of fashion.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2010.