Print, trend and luxe… lot to follow this Eid

Designer Zara Shahjahan talks about her screen-printed COCO range, lawn and chikankari collection for this season

LAHORE:

With a degree in miniature painting, 10 years of designing experience and a booming fashion and lifestyle label under her belt, Zara Shahjahan has cemented herself as a force to be reckoned with. Sharing her sartorial journey with The Express Tribune, the designer revealed her upcoming Eid collections.

Zara revealed that she is planning to launch an ethnic range by COCO, this Eid. She said, “There is a huge demand for lawn kurtas and we are looking to satiate it but will also keep the quirky and fun aesthetic intact.” Apart from this range, the second volume of Zara Shahjehan lawn, comprising of eight designs, will also be available in stores. “We just wrapped up our shoot in Thailand. It’s going to be a continuation of the previous collection in terms of design. However, it will be a bit dressier for the Eid season,” she said. Mahvish Omer, marketing manager, also disclosed that two of the lawn prints will have Swarovski stone-studded buttons, which hasn’t been done by any other designer, yet.



Currently, Zara Shahjehan is introducing a range of white-on-white screen-printed kurtas, such as the one Humaima was seen sporting at a Pakistan vs Zimbabwe match held recently in Lahore, along with a chikankari line by the end of June. She is also planning to experiment with luxury bridal wear this winter. As a designer, it will be a challenge for her as she doesn’t portray a gaudy personality

In the warehouse located in Kot Lakhpat, Lahore, Zara personally looks after all the production aspects. “I can look at things from others’ perspective. When you are an artist, you make what you like but as a designer you design for the market, especially in Pakistan. The market is difficult and challenging but I’m getting a hold of it now,” she said.

Zara owns a diverse range of prêt, luxury prêt line, bridals and lawn catering to all age groups. Specially, her prêt range COCO’s Archie comic-based prints collection were bought by the women above 35, claiming to have brought their inner child out.

Back in the day when Zara launched COCO in 2012, she wanted to do something different to avoid the repetition of prints, that most of the designers end up doing. For this purpose, she has developed a system for her collections, where she comes out with five and a total of 10 designs for COCO per week, where each set is based on a particular theme, ‘Painted Love’ being a recent one. And 25 designs in three collections for prêt and luxury prêt, every month.

She shared that everyone who works at her studio is like a big family to her. She wanted to extend her work ethics to everyone. So, along with her team, she decided to launch a social media campaign #LoveLifeandFun that resonated well with her. “This is what we believe in and what we want to promote. Women who are multidimensional,” she said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th,  2015.

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