Lawn in Pakistan certainly isn’t a green patch where you hold a garden party. It’s the country’s national fabric (if there can be such a thing) and while it still is chilly in most parts of the country (what was that freak ‘snowfall in the Marghallas’ incident last week),
One of the oldest players in the game, Gul Ahmed continues to hold the number one spot when it comes to lawn.
Lawn in Pakistan certainly isn’t a green patch where you hold a garden party. It’s the country’s national fabric (if there can be such a thing) and while it still is chilly in most parts of the country (what was that freak ‘snowfall in the Marghallas’ incident last week), lawn is about to be unraveled with the panache of a red carpet at the Oscars. This weekend will see the very first lawn collection in Karachi, from Lahore-based designer Yahsir Waheed, who incidentally is also one of the first designers to dabble into lending the summer fabric some extra oomph when he started Brimful Designs back in the ’90s. His brand of lawn, Brimful Designs, will be up for grabs this weekend. He’s also introducing another brand under his name; Amaltas will be introduced as a finer quality lawn and its ready to wear leg will be made available very soon.
Further on, we have it from reliable sources that the market will experience a tsunami of 245 lawn brands this summer and while designers can take credit for improving the overall aesthetic of prints, truth is that there are around eight major players in lawn (when it comes to the business side), none of them ‘designer’ brands. Topping the list is textile giant Gul Ahmed, a brand that has aggressively resisted any designer-collaboration despite the peer pressure. Gul Ahmed is still heads and shoulders above the rest of the industry. The top grading is as follows: Gul Ahmed, Nishat, Al Karam, Khaadi, Orient, Lakhani, Five Star and Firdous. Sapphire, with Khadijah Shah as Creative Director, is fast catching up in the top ranking. Overall, lawn is being accounted as a 20 billion rupee industry, which is why designers are happily willing to step into it. Designers have the power of image but not investment whereas textile mills have the money but (most of them) lack the right brand image to be considered fashionable. Fashion being the key word these days.
It’s a win-win situation for both, resulting in the roller coaster ride that we’re up for in summer! Have you saved up for it?
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