Every week the Guardian’s consumer team pits two high street stores competing in the same sector against each other. When it came to women’s fashion, the consumer team asked me to pick between one of my favourite store (Zara) and my not so favourite store (Mango) with surprising outcomes…Read the piece here
If the guests atttending the Stella McCartney party are anything to go by, then flesh will feature prominently in London fashion week. If so it will be a far cry from one fashion show in New York last week, which coincided with the launch of a new agency for Muslim models. Could the trend for modest couture catch on here?
Underwraps is the brainchild of fashion designer Nailah Lymus, a 28-year-old American-born Muslim who believes that Muslim models shouldn’t feel obliged to compromise on covering up. The agency will ensure its models won’t have to wear revealing outfits.
Lymus, from Brooklyn, New York, says: “Being modest isn’t just a Muslim concept; it crosses many religions and cultures. Beautiful women who have always wanted to venture on to the catwalk but have declined because of their beliefs now have a chance.”
Underwraps currently represents three models, who appeared at Lymus’s own show and were sent to castings during New York fashion week. Two of them have been signed by a bridal boutique opening in London this year.
So far, US Glamour and online magazine Fashionista.com have commended Lymus’s attempts to diversify the modelling industry.
According to Bethania Matheus, director of BM Models agency in Brighton, an increase in faith-based fashion has led to a demand for Muslim models internationally – she has received inquiries from designers looking to cast Muslim models, and applications from Muslims wanting to become models. “Modesty appeals to millions. Photographers shouldn’t have issues with models who are specific about what they will and won’t do – this could be a great opportunity for very creative shoots.”
British Muslim model Shanna Bukhari (pictured), who was criticised by some Muslim organisations when she appeared in Miss Universe last year, says: “This is something I would definitely sign up for. I’ve turned down work after being told to compromise my modesty so if a model has the option not to reveal too much skin, then it’s perfect.”
Some fashion followers are more sceptical. Jana Kossaibati, who runs the Muslim fashion blog Hijab Style, says: “I don’t think the way forward is simply to create the hijab-clad version of Claudia Schiffer. That reduces Islamic beliefs to the superficial.”
From Jackie Kennedy’s dresses to limited edition Converse trainers,Marimekko, the Finnish textile company famous for its bright, bold prints, has long been making its mark on the design world.
Celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, Marimekko is still going strong and is bigger than ever before. There are already 84 Marimekko stores worldwide, seven of them opening in the last six months alone (four in Europe and three in the United States, including a flagship store on New York’s Fifth Avenue).
Its London presence will be expanding too, with a second store due to open in Shoreditch at the end of next month (the first stand-alone shop is in Marylebone). Add to that the popularity of Surrur, Marimekko’s DIY design book full of patterns and crafty ideas, which had craft bloggers going crazy, and it’s clear that Marimekko is on a high right now.
“One has to dream. And one must stand out from the rest,” was what textile artist Armi Ratia, who founded Marimekko in 1951, famously said at the start of her career. And stand out she did. At a time when the rest of Europe was languishing in the aftermath of the second world war, Ratia injected some much-needed playful, fresh quirkyness back on to the wilting fashion scene; a little post-war light relief.
At the very first Marimekko fashion show held in a hotel in Helsinki, women reportedly “went wild” for her graphic print shift dresses which all sold out on the day itself. The clothes, in their cut, style and colour, weredesigned to liberate women and heralded a new era. Gone were the 1950s fitted, waist-pinching dresses and in came Marimekko’s loose but crisp, colourful shifts; a shape that’s remained one of the most flattering for many women to this day.
In 1957 a certain Giorgio Armani, who was working as a window dresser for a luxury Italian department store, invited Ratia to display her relaxed cotton shift dresses there. Three years later, Jackie Kennedy bought seven dresses from the then little-known Marimekko brand and was photographed on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine wearing a loose-fitting sleeveless red dress. Jackie Kennedy did for Marimekko what Michelle Obama did for J Crew. You could say the rest is history – or at least it was, up until 1979, when Ratia died.
At this point, the company was passed on to her son, and was almost on the brink of ruin. But guided by the new ownership of feisty businesswoman Kirsti Paakkanen, things changed. She trebled turnover within five years and cleverly marketed the brand as retro and vintage; Carrie Bradshaw donned a Marimekko bikini and dressed her Sex and the City apartment windows in Marimekko curtains. Hey presto, Marimekko was back on the design map.
With a new CEO, former banker Mika Ihamuotila, at the helm, the company continues to thrive. This week, Heal’s is celebratingMarimekko’s 60th anniversary as part of the London Design Festival, with a pop-up shop featuring Marimekko old (that bright reddish-pink poppy print) and new (its more contemporary dot pattern). The autumn Marimekko Converse range is expected to hit the shops very soon; then there’s that second London store opening too. It’s world domination through floral prints and smock dresses.
Published in The Guardian, Friday 28 January 2011. Click here to read the original piece.
Islamabad’s first fashion week, IFW, kicked off yesterday, mixing couture shows with ready-to-wear collections in a bid to introduce Pakistani designers to the world. I asked Andleeb Rana Farhan, editor-in-chief of Pakistani fashion monthly Xpozé, for a run through of who’s who in the world of Pakistani fashion. Some of the designers will be appearing at IFW, some won’t – but all, says Farhan, are worth watching out for.
Nilofer Shahid’s collection, Meeras, has dressed Madonna, Jemima Khan, numerous Saudi princesses and even Princess Diana, and she will be showcasing her latest designs at IFW. “Each of her collections sum up royalty from the bygone sub-continental era. When I look at her pieces, I think of romantic princesses, Mughal architecture and poetry,” says Farhan, who has her fashion editor’s eye on Shahid’s jewel-toned velvet opera coats.
Sadaf Malaterre
Karachi-based Malaterre has brought a little bit of Parisian chic with her to Pakistan (she lived in Paris for years). Her designs are bright, slightly boho (think harem-pant jumpsuits) and never conventional in the Pakistani sense (no embroidery, ever). Apparently she’s also a bit of a character, too – all the more reason to expect her to make waves. “This lady knows how to cut a dress,” says Farhan. “Nobody in Pakistan does luxury ready-to-wear better than she does.”
Married to one of Pakistan’s supermodels, Amna Haq, Ammar Belal is the new kid on the block appearing at IFW this year. “His clothes are not for faint-hearted women” says Farhan – which is possibly why Sex and the City stylist Patricia Field went for them. Farhan says Belal’s clothes are “punky and theatrical” and a bit crazy sometimes, such as the jacket he created in homage to Michael Jackson.
House of Kamiar Rokni
This label, run by design duo and cousins Kamiar Rokni and Tia Noon, was at Paris fashion week last year and will be at IFW this year – not bad, considering it’s only been around for a few years. HKR loves playing with traditional Pakistani finishes and fabrics and combining them with western cuts. “It’s desi-chic”, explains Farhan (“desi” meaning “native” in Urdu). Their spring/summer collection for this year is called Folkistan, and is full of kitsch, folksy embroidery.
Regal, elegant, traditional with a fun twist – that’s Faiza Samee. Her clothes are exquisite. “She just simply never disappoints,” sighs Farhan, who is lusting over Samee’s patchwork Afghan tunics. Samee’s pieces have been shown at the V&A museum, and she also designed Benazir Bhutto’s wedding dress.
One of the best-known Pakistani designers, both inside Pakistan and out, HSY Studio by Hassan Sheheryar Yasin is haute, haute, haute couture and already very renowned for bridalwear. Farhan says, “He’s a total success story and it’s always a delight to watch HSY on the ramp. Always very well thought-out, with sleek choreography.”
Sana and Safinaz are best friends and sisters-in-law, and are behind one of the most sought-after brands at the moment. At a recent bridal exhibition, ambulances had to be called in because fights between well-heeled ladies broke out over the Sana Safinaz collection, according to Farhan. “We’re talking cat fights!” she says. Still, a look at the clothes sort of explains why. Simply stunning.
Published in G2, The Guardian, 24 January 2011
Forget the catwalks of London, Paris, New York and Milan. This year, there’s only one fashion week making history: the world’s very first Islamabad fashion week.
Pakistan‘s capital city was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons recently after Salmaan Taseer, governor of the Punjab province, was shot dead three weeks ago outside the Kohsar shopping centre, but Islamabad, or
Isloo as it’s affectionately called by locals, is determined to put that sad event behind it.
“Islamabad fashion week will change the way people think of Pakistan,” says Kamran Sani, one of the directors of Excellent Events & Entertainment, the company behind the four-day extravaganza that starts on Thursday. “There is a bright side to Pakistan, which is modern, secular and upwardly progressive. No one bothers to see that side – they see the Taliban, bomb blasts, floods, poverty. But Pakistan
is alive and kicking and the time has come for our fashion industry to go global. The west needn’t be so surprised – global culture has fully crept in to Pakistan and our fashion designers are brilliant.”
As would be expected, security is tight. The venue, the Serena, a luxury hotel popular with foreigners, will be cordoned off and surrounded by guards, as will everything else within a half-kilometre radius. Guests are strictly by invite only, and include fashion journalists from Paris, Russia, Ukraine, Switzerland and even trendy Vice magazine. Sani says that he has done what he can to ensure the safety of designers, models and guests. “The rest is all in Allah’s hands.”
Pakistan’s fashionistas are determined to make an appearance. “Everyone is worried about their security in Pakistan,” says Andleeb Rana Farhan, editor-in-chief of Pakistani fashion monthly Xpozé. “But these ‘by invitation only’ events tend to be secure. Besides, life moves on, and as a fashion editor I’ll go wherever I need to.”
Among Pakistanis, Isloo is known as the clean city that goes to sleep at 7pm, and not a lot happens. Will its fashion week really put Islamabad on the map for the right reasons? “Well, just the fact that a four-day fashion event is happening there is very exciting,” says Farhan. “It makes a change to the usual political news that we only ever hear from Islamabad.”
“There’s this idea that Pakistan couldn’t possibly have a fashion scene, that it’s poverty-stricken and full of economic and social problems,” says Manchester-based fashion writer Nazma Noor, who blogs atAsianFashionBlog.co.uk and says she’ll be following the fashion week closely online. “But people forget there are a lot of very rich Pakistani people who are incredibly fashion-forward – in terms of Asian fashion, the UK is always behind Pakistan.”
Of the confirmed designers showcasing at Islamabad fashion week, two stand out – Nilofer Shahid, whose label Meeras has dressed Madonna and Jemima Khan, and Ammar Belal, whose jeans reportedly sell in Sex and the City stylist Patricia Field’s New York boutique.
Whether or not traditionalist mullahs will be up in arms over models strutting their stuff down a catwalk remains to be seen, as too do Sani’s optimistic claims that the fashion week will turn Islamabad into one of the world’s fashion capitals. But the fashion industry is defiant.
“There’s definitely a lot of uncertainty in the air and a war between ‘them’ and ‘us’ – them being the mullahs, and us being the open-minded liberals who want a change,” says Farhan. “The latter have come to a point where they’ve stopped giving a damn and just want to have a good time. The Pakistani fashion industry is on a roll.”
Published in The Observer, Sunday 8 March, 2009.
Madame Bovary and Rebecca Bloomwood make an unlikely pairing. But the 19th-century tragic literary heroine and the Gucci-obsessed star of latest chick-flick Confessions of a Shopaholic have two things in common: they both shop and they both lie about it. A lot.
They are not alone: when it comes to shopping, money and credit cards, it seems many of us are prepared to tell more than a few little white lies – particularly if it makes us look less frivolous in a credit crunch.
Click here to read the rest of the original piece.