All wool and no shoddy. This was the case at last month’s regional final of the International Woolmark Prize — covering India, Pakistan and the Middle East — where three Pakistani brands vied for the opportunity to progress to the global final.
“Amazing”, “enriching”, “exciting” and of course the fashionista staple “fabulous” are among the words used to describe the experience. Both Omar Farooq and Sania Maskatiya returned to compete for the second time. Farooq’s menswear label Republic was also nominated last year, as was Maskatiya’s eponymous womenswear brand, which she produces with Umair Tabani.
Misha Lakhani was also nominated in the competition’s womenswear category. “As a progressive brand that is always looking to reinterpret the traditions of surface design techniques and woven textiles, it was an exciting opportunity to apply that same curiosity to wool on a platform that is the fashion industry’s most respected,” she says of the competition.
Versatility unleashed
Wool might be notoriously difficult to work with, but Farooq is no newcomer to the textile. “It can be quite challenging, because you need to know the textile and what you want to achieve when you set out to create this fabric,” Farooq, who launched his bespoke tailoring service in 2009, tells GN Focus. “It can be tough to figure out which microns, etc. work best and whether to use the hand or power loom for your specific needs, or what fibre mix suits the result you’re going for.
“That said, you can develop new techniques and methods of working with it, and then there’s nothing you can’t achieve with wool.”
About 90 per cent of the Republic collection uses the textile. “Wool and cashmere are such luxurious materials, and that’s always been the goal — to introduce luxury in Pakistan as a Pakistani brand.”
Maskatiya is equally taken by the fabric’s versatility. “While nobody in Karachi really wears wool because of the climate, we were able to develop a fabric that can be used all year-round,” she says. “It also takes colour really well and can be manipulated in many ways.”
Her brand draws its inspiration from nature, while exploring divergent themes in the multiple collections the team produce yearly. “Pakistan’s fashion scene is blooming,” says Maskatiya. “People want high-quality, high fashion at a reasonable price.”
Adds Lakhani, “The industry is becoming very universal and varied in its aesthetics, with many designs that would interest people all over the world — especially across the Middle East, given our shared cultures and tastes.
“The search for how authenticity and craftsmanship can be articulated into the art of modern versatile dressing is never far from my mind. I draw inspiration from everything around me — travel, music, film, novels and nature.”
Regional inspiration
On the other hand, Farooq says he’s a bit of a scavenger. “The Republic brand might be oriented to the West, but there’s a lot of depth in our own country and the region that I extract elements from. This then gets absorbed and blended into something of our own.
“For the latest collection, we’ve incorporated influences of Islamic architecture. For instance, we’ve taken the marble screen commonly found in mosques and magnified it into a symbol that the entire collection revolves around.”
Stuart McCullough, Managing Director of the Woolmark Company, the global authority on wool, says, “The International Woolmark Prize is our commitment to educating the next generation of fashion industry leaders about the extraordinary potential of merino wool.
“With the number of countries represented the largest yet, the prize is a truly global celebration of emerging talent and, most importantly, provides the winning designers with a unique opportunity for commercial success on a global scale.”
Indian designer Suket Dhir’s eponymous label won in the menswear category, and UAE-based Riccardo Audisio and Yago Goicoechea’s Taller Marmo brand won for their womenswear. The international final for menswear will be held in Florence in January, and the womenswear final in New York in February.
