Not a lot of families can boast three creative siblings. It is even rarer that they pool their talents to create a successful business. Yet The Emperor 1688 is proof that this is possible.
“Any business one starts is destined to fail, this is the harsh reality,” says Babak Golkar, who founded the luxury menswear brand in 2007 with his brothers Haman and Farhan. “How to make it not fail, this is the challenge.”
The brothers studied fashion and design at different institutions in the UK. The Emperor 1688 has since won the prestigious Esquire Designer of the Year Award in 2011 and was nominated again the following year.
“All three of us have a very different vision of style,” explains Babak. “I am very fashion forward when it comes to gentlemen’s style, Haman is very classic and Farhan very contemporary. We manage to fuse all these styles and create something unique.”
The Directory caught up with the brothers ahead of their autumn-winter show presented by Saks Fifth Avenue at Fashion Forward Dubai.
Your brand has grown immensely over the past few years. What is the secret to your success?
We have always maintained from the very beginning our relationship with our customer must be consistent, honest and faithful. The primary objective of any fashion label should not be a fashion show or the glitz and glam of the media, but an honest product.
The pleasure it gives us to see someone we don’t know wearing our clothes simply because they appreciate and love the quality is priceless. It is this relationship we have with our product and customer that has really fuelled our regional and international growth.
What is your inspiration for your latest collection?
We looked at the relationship of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in their retreat at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. The collection is a contemporary take on traditional country looks using Scottish wools, tweeds and tartan.
The focus of the collection is the transition of the men’s line, which is synonymous with The Emperor 1688, to the launch of the ready-to-wear women’s line.
We love and are fascinated with traditional English tailoring, which is something that was used as the starting point, but taking hints of it to a very contemporary urban collection.
Houndstooth, which can be seen as a throwback to a bygone era, takes pride of place in your last collection. How do you make vintage style relevant?
It is impossible to move forward in art, fashion and culture without having some reference to the past. Something new is born out of something old; it is this that really fascinates us. You need to be ahead of the game in the fashion industry, but there must be a sense of memory and familiarity that people can associate with and trust.
The houndstooth we used for this collection is electric blue on ice white. Needless to say this colour combination was not used in the past, and is what makes it new and fresh.
Can you single out one item of clothing every man should have in his wardrobe?
A classic white shirt. No matter how bad or tired you feel, putting on a crisp, fresh cotton shirt with a stiff collar honestly lifts your spirit, makes you stand up straight and feel like you’re ready for anything.
You started out as a menswear brand. Why the decision to go into womenswear?
Womenswear is something we have always wanted to explore and we felt it was the right time to expand the brand. We have had a few capsule collections for the past two seasons, but this season we are showing our very first full collection for women, which we are really very excited about.
Fashion Forward Season Three runs from April 10 to 13 at the Madinat Jumeirah. Entry to catwalk shows are invite-only. To register for tickets to talks and workshops, go to fashionforward.ae. For more on The Emperor 1688, go to theemperor1688.com.
