“It is possible to be modest and stylish at the same time”

We were lucky that Lahore’s crippling winter spell, which we had been reading about in the papers, broke down for the day we were in the city for Zainab Chottani’s store opening in Gulberg. Flights took off from Karachi and landed in Lahore more or less on time and our ‘tropical’ winter wardrobes, usually ill-equipped to handle temperatures below 10 degrees, fared relatively better. Lahore, however, was dressed to the nines at Zainab Chottani’s event. The designer – who has over a decade of brand equity in her hometown – was opening her first store at the Gulberg Galleria Mall in Lahore and her support system came out to celebrate this moment of success with her.

Amongst the first to step in was film star Resham, who’s actively working in television these days. Dressed in an emerald green Zainab Chottani outfit from the designer’s new Wedding Festive range, Resham looked every bit the star in her high heeled Louboutins and Bottega clutch. How did she stay so flawlessly evergreen, I asked, to which she quickly replied, “Moun bandh rakhna parta hai (It’s important to keep the mouth shut)” I wasn’t sure whether she meant that in terms of diet or dialogue but she later clarified that she kept a very careful watch on what she ate. Verifying that was the fact that a lunch box full of homemade shaami kababs came to her when she needed to eat; she touched absolutely nothing from the deli items on the evening’s menu.

The other star of the evening was Iqra Aziz, who’s having a great year with the currently popular Ranjha Ranjha Kardi. Dressed in a ruby coloured festive outfit, Iqra was quite the red carpet favourite and smiled the evening away as fans and photographers both followed her around for clicks and shout outs. Warm and totally approachable, Iqra greeted everyone with sincerity and gracefully acknowledged all compliments for her performance as Noori. In Lahore for the weekend, I found out that she was traveling with her mother and they had planned a whole tour of Lahore on Saturday.

The event continued with the usual buzz of pretty models wearing pieces from Zainab’s new collection, which also went on sale online at the same time. The way sales and marketing is intertwined between brick, mortar, print and digital is very fascinating, evident in the fact that most successful brands are everywhere. The way to do business has really evolved in the last decade.

“Our brand does really well online but it was important for me to open [an outlet] in Lahore,” Zainab Chottani spoke to Instep at the event. “We get a lot of queries for wedding wear, especially bridals, and while I do manage international clients and bookings on Skype, I felt it was time to be personally more accessible to Lahore.”

Hence the three-tier store in the swish Galleria Mall. Reflecting the same lay-out as her Karachi boutique, this store too began with a bridal ‘appointment only’ studio on one level, with ready to wear luxury pret and then pret on two floors. While Zainab does design lawn in summer, the winter collection was all about festive wear, constructed in luxury fabrics like silk, organza and a lot of velvet. The palette was very rich and jewel toned, ideal for the season it targeted.

I also had a quiet conversation with the designer about her recent change in personal outlook; Zainab started wearing the hijab after performing Hajj last year and she had gotten some social media backlash for being ‘hypocritical’, her critics had pointed out. Apparently you couldn’t be a fashion designer and be religious at the same time. But had her change in lifestyle changed her design ethos too? I was eager to understand her point of view.

“Yes, it definitely has,” Zainab, as soft-spoken as always, shared. “The fashion show I participated in right after Hajj was designed earlier in the year, so it had some revealing pieces. I got backlash for that but it was unavoidable. But now I’m designing mostly modest fashion. It is possible to be modest and stylish at the same time, I believe. And believe it or not, most of my clients in the UK and USA ask for hijabs and scarves with their outfits. That said, for customized orders, many of my clients want sleeveless shirts or spaghetti straps and I will go with their wishes. That is what customization is about.”