It was back in 2018 that Lahore-based designer, Mohsin Naveed Ranjha came into focus when Bollywood star Ranveer Singh was seen wearing MNR Designs on the cover of Filmfare magazine. In an earlier interview with Instep, Mohsin revealed that he had been in touch with the actor’s team for two years before everything worked out, that too closer to the #DeepVeer wedding.

Though it was a paid campaign, the designer from Gujranwala has definitely come a long way. Almost eight years into the fashion industry and Mohsin Naveed Ranjha is once again in the news for all the right reasons. British-Pakistani stylist and television personality, Tan France, who gained popularity after appearing as the fashion expert on the Netflix series Queer Eye, was recently spotted wearing an MNR design for a South Asian night. Tan France garnered more fame last year when he hosted the Netflix reality show called Next in Fashion alongside British model, writer, TV presenter and fashion designer, Alexa Chung.

Despite having access to numerous luxury couture brands, it is surely a moment of pride when international stars choose to wear Pakistani designers’ creations. We caught up with the designer to get some insight on how he ended up designing a sherwani for the Hollywood star.

According to the designer, both France and Ranjha follow each other on social media and that is how it all started. “I just asked my team to get in touch with Tan France after I saw that he used to like my designs on social media. Tan France’s team showed interest in working with MNR and reached out to us for a specific design for an event,” Ranjha told Instep.

Mohsin Naveed Ranjha went on to say that he thoroughly enjoyed the whole process. “We made a group and connected via emails as well as video calls. Because Tan understands the nitty-gritties that go into designing an outfit, so we started off by creating moodboards and sent them sketches,” the designer said.

“What made the designing and creation process interesting was the fact that Tan was keen on being a part of the entire thing. He was so involved that it seemed he was physically present at the factory,” shared Ranjha, adding that the overall experience was not only amazing but totally different from how we dress up celebs in Pakistan, because many times even A-list celebs try to force their opinions and designs on the designer and the end result isn’t that amazing.

He continued, “Though I was ecstatic to see Tan wearing my creation, to be honest I enjoyed the process of creating the outfit much more. I think the major reason behind it was that I got to learn a lot about international trends and how the market works there.”

As for the cream sherwani, Ranjha revealed, “We used karandi fabric which is fully hand-embroidered using intricate resham work and button details. Tan France and his team took inspiration for the sherwani from my ‘Yaar Baili’ collection that we customized for him.”

Tan France is known for his aesthetic, and he pulls off the traditional look with style. He even took to social media to thank Mohsin Naveed Ranjha for his look for a “magical South Asian night.” The Queer Eye star also shared his sherwani look on his Instagram and captioned it, “What I wore to the South Asian’s dinner, a few days ago, where I was the ONLY one who turned up in traditional clothing.”

This is not all! The designer also shared that there are a few more creations that he is designing for Tan for future events. When asked about details, Ranjha said, “I do have all the details, but I can’t disclose anything right now.”

On a parting note, we asked Mohsin Naveed Ranjha whether he plans to dress other Bollywood celebrities. He responded, “The Indo-Pak situation was better back then. I would love to create designs for stars globally and if the situation gets better then of course you will see other international stars wearing my designs,” he concluded.