Stoneage: Making fashion and music connect

From designer alliances to store merchandising and creative window displays, Stoneage keeps it hip.

LAHORE: It is not only the fashion industry that has experienced a boost in activity the past year but other associated industries such as fabric stores, mass retailers as well as street fashion retailers have also progressed.

Crossroads got celebrity stylist Asma Mumtaz to make rounds at their chain of stores around the country to style their customers winter wardrobes, Riverstone did a fashion show with amateur models to exhibit their winter collection, while Stoneage spearheaded the collaborations bandwagon and asked designer Hasan Sheheryar Yasin to design an exclusive line for their high end consumer.

Stoneage is one brand that assiduously changes its shop displays to keep up with the seasons and changes in trends. At the moment the store displays giant white snowflakes hanging from the ceiling to herald the winter and Christmas.

From designer alliances to store merchandising and creative window displays, Stoneage is trying to work along the same lines as any international high street brand. However, what makes the brand’s marketing strategy exciting is its indigenous tie ups. This year Stoneage took an interesting approach towards creating greater awareness, by conducting a model hunt in October via Facebook and then used those fresh faces for their fall and winter campaigns. But the brand is just not achieving milestones on the fashion front.

This week it sought collaboration with music by shooting a music video with an upcoming music sensation, Faiza Mujahid in one of their stores. An ingenious marketing tool, the video will be put up on social networking sites and carry the brand logo on the side to create a recall for the brand. “Stoneage is all about the youth and we love promoting young , fresh talent in anyway that we can. We always try to do things differently as you can see from our previous projects. This event was about the youth, energy, music and lifestyle,” said Daanish Naeem of Stoneage.

Naeem promises that Stoneage will keep evolving as a youth based brand and create more alliances to strengthen the label: “There are multiple projects going on simultaneously and as far as the latest ones are concerned, it’s all about the Cricket World Cup coming your way.”

Choosing a young star like Mujahid who has an unconventional look and voice is an exciting way to tap into the young adult market. Mujahid is best known for her vocals in the phenomenal hit “Bundya Ho” from Shoaib Mansoor’s Khuda Kai Liye. “The video production itself has not been financed by the brand,” explains Mujahid. “What we are basically doing is having a gig inside the store which is a one time gig for which Stoneage has provided non-financial logistics for the video to come to life.” Mujahid performed her hit single, “Bandeya”, a cover of “You give love a bad name”, along with her new single “Zindagi” for which this exercise was undertaken.

Moreover her wardrobe for the upcoming video is of the new winter line, but is there any official commitment towards endorsement? “We as a brand have never forced or signed anyone to endorse our apparel for money,” clarified Naeem. “Whereas, we believe if we are going to make products that will inspire them, they will automatically wear them. It is the same in the case of Mujahid.” And what girl says no to a whole new winter wardrobe particularly if she is an upcoming rock star?

“My genre of style is the 80s and leather is in these days. Since Stoneage has a good line of jackets in leather so I chose that and a pair of sunglasses from the store to create my own look,” said Mujahid of her style quotient.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 27^th, 2010.