INSTEP Magzine


instep profile Fashion... according to Maheen Karim Maheen Karim has taken the high road to fashion. It's a path that was considered unthinkable until recent - a way to survive without joining the rat race. Welcome to Maheen Karim's world where commercial bridal fashion does not exist and quality is and finesse is chosen over quantity and mediocrity. By Aamna Haider Isani

I haven't a shadow of doubt about my decision to come back to Pakistan," Maheen Karim smiles, as she runs through the last two years since the time she set foot into Pakistan's fashion industry. It was two years ago when she returned from London after having acquired her degree from Central St Martins and her highly enviable internships with international fashion houses like Hussein Chalayan, Julien MacDonald, Giorgio Armani and Vivienne Westwood. But that was then and for a greater part of her time spent here, things have been extremely unsettled in Pakistan. Business has suffered incredibly and choosing to stick to the challenging ready-to-wear rack of fashion, Maheen has faced the brunt of it. She even lost an employee in the May 2007 riots in Karachi. It demoralized her immensely but despite the obstacles she has faced, she chooses to remain grounded.

"This is home," she adds, confident in the path she has chosen for herself. And Maheen Karim has every right to be proud of her achievements because the Lux Style Awards nomination she received last year for Best Emerging Talent notwithstanding, she has created a niche for herself in the local market. It may be extremely elitist - luxury western wear in Pakistan always will be - but she has managed to ascertain a certain designer credibility or integrity, if you may, that usually comes with only years of experience. Maheen Karim, like Sonya Battla, has in two years not created a single piece of clothing that one can put down as mediocre. That's quite an achievement in itself. As a designer, one can easily call Maheen Karim the antithesis of HSY, for example, despite the fact that both belong to the same young generation, the successful new front line of fashion. With her mode of operation she has proven that it is possible to succeed without the cyclonic marketing methods Hassan Sheheryar has exemplified for others. She prefers to take things slow and steady and believes in irreversible progression.

"I believe in exclusivity," she says. "I don't think it's necessary to be everywhere. I don't want my label to become run of the mill. Having said that, I don't think I'm ready to delegate responsibility yet," Maheen confesses on why expansion isn't an urgency for her. "I still have to check every single piece before it goes to the shops. I just can't let it pass." "The finished garment, its finish is of utmost importance to me," she adds. "I wouldn't wear something that was finished badly and I wouldn't dream of selling something that was finished badly." With a love for prêt a porter, like Sonya Battla, and an obsession with detail and perfectionism, like Nabila or Rizwan Beyg, one gets a glimpse of the work ethos Maheen is working into. The similarities with some of fashion's finest are clear and it's certainly not a bad place for any young designer to be.

Maheen is committed to designing ready-to-wear; she prefers to stay away from orders and customized clothing though she does oblige her friends every now and then. She derives creative pleasure from western clothing as it allows her to play with the shape of a garment, that's something that St Martins ingrained in her as a designer. And she vows never to step into bridals, for the sheer monotony of their silhouette does not inspire her. That may not be a recipe for overwhelming a mass market, but it certainly is for groundbreaking fashion. And that's the path Maheen Karim is looking at. The corner dropping hemline she created more than a year ago has already become her signature.

There's perfectionism in her lifestyle and as with every brilliant designer in the world, Maheen designs her lifestyle. Her home is immaculate, spotless and extremely well manicured. It is enhanced by the leather and wood that lines the small study where she sits. Several books on Chanel highlight the flavor she lives with and it's all in very good taste. And good taste is what she creates. It's as simple as that. But was it initially that simple for her to foray into the fashion industry, an industry that is always skeptical and critical of new comers, especially if they come with the technical upper hand of having lived and studied abroad? St Martin's of course is the fashion school that nurtured world renowned designers such as Alexander McQueen, Julien McDonald and Stella McCartney. "I never really had any problems settling into the industry," Maheen remembers. "There was no friction. On the contrary designers like Maheen (Khan), Rizwan (Beyg) and Deepak (Perwani) were very helpful in teaching me the ropes of setting up. And I have really enjoyed working with Fayeza Ansari and Amean J, who understand what I have to say. I have to say that settling in hasn't been tough at all."

While she mentions names of all the people who have become her circuit of friends, she is quick to mention the one man who she doesn't hesitate to call "my mentor". "Zahir Rahimtoola is my mentor," she says of the man behind Labels, the only space she stocks at in Pakistan. Labels was the perfect launching pad for Maheen and as a guide, Zahir was and remains a sincere guiding hand. "He's the one who has helped me through and through and I've been doing so well thanks to Labels that I don't need to stock anywhere else in Karachi." Having said that, Maheen is thinking about taking her label to Lahore now, and The Boulevard seems the ideal space. Like Labels in Karachi, The Boulevard in Lahore has become the ideal multi-label boutique and it would be great to see Maheen stock there. The burgeoning party circuit in Lahore ensures that fashionistas need a steady supply of beautiful dresses that few designers in Pakistan are capable of designing. She is also stocking at Sauce in Dubai, a space she shares with several top notch designers including Stella McCartney, Eli Saab, Chloe and Matthew Williamson. Maheen is just as choosy about the shows she participates in. Pakistan Fashion Week was something that would have facilitated a growing market, she says.

"Whatever little interaction we had with IMG boosted our confidence," she claims. "The industry came to a standstill when Pakistan Fashion Week came to a standstill because so many people were hoping to launch big time with it. I do hope it comes together next year, giving us enough time to get things back in order. One would want to be ready this time." While PFW remains an eager anticipation, Maheen made her runway debut at the Georgio Armani show in Karachi last December - not counting the fabulous gold poncho Resham wore while she performed at the Lux Style Awards last year. The Armani show won her raving reviews and critics easily slot her as the next Sonya Battla in the making. Like Sonya, Maheen prefers to remain considerably low profile - a pity, since seeing beautiful, talented women and the fabulous clothes they design would add value to many society pages.

Then again, the best of creative minds do tend to become some of the most elusive which is why you don't see Iman Ahmad, Sonya Battla, Sana Safinaz, Saadia Mirza and now Maheen Karim everywhere. But these women are a league of their own and the fashionistas who truly understand style know who they are and where to buy them. And that is enough. Pakistan's fashion industry has been very big on volume; it has been operating greatly on hype. But if Pakistan intends to take its industry across the border and into global fashion arenas, designers need to understand that fashion can't be about catering to the masses and marketing your label like a cookie cutter operation. It needs to be about oomph, about luxury…it has to be about quality. Maheen Karim, in her own quiet way, is responsible for creating a market that was unthinkable until a couple of years ago. Who could've imagined that any designer in Pakistan could exist without making and selling highly profitable bridals? Maheen Karim has done it. Sure enough, she has created that niche and is very happy working within it. With her flair for design and her uncompromising focus on silhouette, it is designers like Maheen Karim who will stand out, no matter how low profile they insist on being.