INSTEP Magzine


instep profile All that glitters is far more than 24 carat gold Revived: The Journey Within is the talk of the town. Instep goes to meet the woman who's managed to pull off a miraculous feat. Kiran Aman reveals her inner journey to revival... By Aamna Haider Isani

There is only one thing that carries a character, a legend, a historical figure or even a simple individual beyond his life span. There is only one thing that takes his life from one era through to another even after he is gone. And that one thing is the written word, a book. How many times have we visited book stores and picked up biographies? There is always a curiosity to read into other peoples' lives; there is always a quest to pick up information being revealed for the first time. That's what we are looking for when we buy Benazir Bhutto's posthumous book, or when we pick up Tina Brown's Diana Chronicles, published ten years after her death. There is indeed something very sacred and intriguing about the written word, yet not a word had been written on the contemporary Pakistan fashion scene. A month ago, if you walked into a bookstore, you wouldn't have been able to find a single book our fashion industry. Nothing at all. Certain people have penned books on the textile evolution but there has been nothing on fashion, which makes fashion smaller than it actually is. So small, in fact that it was almost insignificant. After all, only the most die-hard aesthete would pick up a book on the virtues of fabric or the Kashmiri shawl. But one book has changed that. Kiran Aman's Revived: The Journey Within has put 14 important figureheads from Pakistan's fashion industry on the map for the world to read about.

Fashion is a high frequency industry, an extremely glamorous space that most people aspire to be part of. They cannot, because it is as close knit and unwelcoming to outsiders as it is attractive. It's where everyone likes to be, where people like to rub shoulders but it's not something they can easily do. There's no 'welcome' mat waiting for visitors. So it's bizarre when a virtual outsider should step in and not only have access into the lives of the fashionable elite, but should also be allowed a free hand to write on them.

"I didn't know most of the women I had pinpointed to write about," says Kiran, whose brainchild, Revived has turned common perceptions around. "But they all spoke to me, though I admit they didn't take me seriously enough. I had heard that these were the 'divas' of fashion but I got none of that 'attitude' from them." The extremely elusive Bunto Kazmi opened up to Kiran, perhaps the third time in her life for a publication. Faiza Samee and Nilofer Shahid dwelled on their past, Maheen Khan on her life and Nabila on how she had learnt to put two and two together to make eleven. Frieha Altaf narrated her story and perhaps for the very first time came across as a woman who had struggled against all odds to get where she is today. To many of her critics, she was suddenly a caring mother and a daughter, not just a crazy fashion driven creature who lived her life in high heels with a whip in her hand.

"Well originally Sanjay Gupta, the director, wanted us to play with the guns, load them and stuff," continues Faisal in that husky baritone. "I was very excited by the idea, but Bilal stopped me saying, 'Do we really want to send out the message to our fans that the Strings are into guns?' I thought about it and decided he was right. Guns are not what Strings are about at all." Bilal smiles. There is an easy awareness between them. And music producer Rohail Hyatt who has known them for ages says that they are very easy. Part of their charm he attributes to the "nice boys next door syndrome, which is how they are." Yet he sees them as two separate entities. "They are very different people," he tells Instep. "Which is why when you ask me about them as a unit, I can't answer because I look at them as two very different individuals." According to Rohail, Bilal is the creative mind, while Faisal has the capacity to be very real and the skill to deliver. And the success of the Strings, Rohail attributes to their difference. "They compliment each other very well."

Kiran, practically a nobody to the everyone-knows-everyone-and-nobody-else-matters world of fashion, appeared out of nowhere and came up with this fabulous, thought provoking book that takes 14 of Pakistan's fashion industry's building blocks and spins them into a human perspective. Kiran insists that she hasn't portrayed the leading ladies of fashion, because it would be impossible to do that without mentioning many others. What she has done is take 14 women who have intrigued her through their emotional journeys and she has humanized them. These are women who, according to Kiran, are living lives to their truest potential and are thus exemplary. And the power of the written word is such that with writing about their huge achievements and emotional journeys through life, she has brought them closer to each and every person who reads their story. Maheen Khan, Faiza Samee, Bunto Kazmi, Nilofer Shahid, Sonya Battla, Fareshteh Aslam, Samina Ibrahim, Rehana Saigol, Mehvash Amin, Shehnaz Ismail, Rooha Ghaznavi and Nabila – Kiran has intertwined their personal lives with their professional, making them larger than life icons that may inspire every woman who reads about them. With Revived, these women have been brought far beyond being mere names or labels – Kiran has documented their stories and made them accessible and so human that everyone out there will be able to identify with one or another. It's an unprecedented achievement and what it has done for the larger picture is that it has suddenly put fashion and the industry around it in a whole new perspective. Until now fashion has always been treated as a fifth wheel, a frivolity that one can easily do without. But Kiran has projected it as a labour of love; she has made these women a force, who will in turn inspire other women to be motivated by their stories. It was obvious amidst the many mist eyes and a few emotional tears at the launch of the book in Karachi, despite not knowing all of them well, Kiran had made a heart felt connection with them all. Kiran is a jewellery designer by profession, which makes her an unlikely choice to be the first one to pen a book on fashion's force of 14 but she has written this book with the words she is most comfortable with – motifs. And these motifs that she has drawn have connected the dots of a bigger, more holistic picture. Kiran is quick to point out that she never intended the book to be a tribute. It was her epiphany. Going through a philosophical and spiritual phase after ending a long and unhappy marriage, she was looking inwards for answers. "I was married for 12 years and only when that was over did I begin to feel like the person I had always wanted to be," Kiran explains. "I went through a whole spiritual phase and started researching Rumi. I planned on doing a book for his 800th birthday. I started meeting so many creative people who echoed my inner thoughts. I realized that every woman I met was living through the same emotional states I had at different times. I wrote them all out and named them, one by one. I designed four motifs that represented those four states and the more I researched, the more things fell into place." "Last year in April, I went to see Frieha (Altaf) about the Rumi book. That was the first time I met her. She told me point blank that I was nobody and why would anyone be interested in what I wrote? Nobody knew me and no one would come to my book launch. 'Design a collection for the Lux Style Awards' she insisted and I did." One thing led to another. Kiran designed her LSA collection around the theory of Revived and the four emotional states of a woman. And much to her surprise, every piece a man or woman at the awards (the first fashion event Kiran had ever been a part of) would pick up to wear reflected his or her predominant state of emotion. Vinny fell in love with a ball of gold wire on a chain, Zakir (Nabila's son) picked up a similar necklace that carried bright gold wired balls. As people, they are evidently 'wired' individuals. Annie fell in love with an Encaptured pair of earrings, as Kiran explains - at the beginnings we are all Encaptured as we are caught between boundaries made for us by our parents and families. Kiran's fascination with her own theory grew at the LSAs and she returned, determined to research it and put it down in a book. Rumi was momentarily forgotten. As the theory about the four emotional states came together in her head, it started inspiring interest in women who identified with it. As the news spread amongst her clients and friends, Kiran was suddenly bombarded by women who wanted to know which emotional state they belonged to. Were they Captured, Wired, Echoed or Encircled? Kiran's theory became a definite centre of attraction and suddenly she found herself testing it on an odd assortment of 600 women. Eventually she short-listed 18 women who she wanted to feature in her book. "I was advised to do the book on historical figures but I wanted to write about women the people of Pakistan could relate to. They had to be living legends, women who were living to their truest potential no matter which state they belonged to. I pinpointed 18 women; the four who I couldn't get were Shamaeel, Sehyr Saigol, Noorjehan Bilgrami and Sanya Muneer. Shamaeel was too busy, Sehyr was uncomfortable talking about her emotions, Noorjehan could take time out only for an email interview which I didn't think would be enough and Sanya I just could not get in touch with. I don't know the fashion industry that well and I may have missed important women but I know the ones I chose were living examples of what I wanted to say." And in that process Kiran discovered she had a lot to say and she was determined enough to put her money where her mouth is. She took strength from her life and with the help of her co-author and publishing partner Khadija Malik Hassan, she came up with Revived, a book that aimed to shatter mind sets and reverse states of negativity. Now, a year later, the book Revived is out and Kiran herself is astonished how her self–coined theory is fast turning into a buzzword. It's been over 10 days since the book launched in Karachi and suddenly Kiran is the new expert on defining every woman's emotional state. Other women from the fashion industry have been calling her, even their moms and aunts have been calling her up to know where she sees them fit in. Women find this book particularly riveting. There is an innate femininity to the concept and indeed jewellery is the most feminine accessory going. And the book launch of Revived to had all the elements that women love. It wasn't a glamourous, glitzy, networking evening, as fashion dos generally are. Instead it was warm and intimate and emotional. There has never been an event quite like it in living memory, but that is perhaps because the book the event launched is truly groundbreaking. One cannot remember a jeweller catapulting their creativity from jewellery into publishing while dabbling in a bit of psychology and managing to pay tribute to women in fashion at the same time. And Kiran puts it all down to her emotional journey. A very young-looking 34, pretty and vivacious, Kiran exudes the kind of peace that comes from being an Echoed woman. And as her theory explains, every Echoed woman emerges in the current state of serene beauty by going through hardships which are depicted in the beaten gold used in this particular motif. She remembers that her father left when she was three and she has never seen him since, which is why she insists she has no father. She was barely out of school when she was urged into a marriage that had her in an Encaptured state for years. It was all very negative and yet the best thing is that she managed to keep her vision positive. And the positivity is apparent in her life and her surroundings. Kiran's home is a peaceful haven in Karachi, simple and tasteful and yet speckled with bits and pieces of colour that indicate an innate cheeriness. "The whole exercise is about establishing where you belong and then learn about other people," Kiran explains her theory about the four emotional states. "Every woman should understand herself and she should not be misunderstood by others. I was misunderstood for 34 years. I'm no expert on women; I have just given a tool. I've put a concept out there and you need to take it from there." And now that Revived is out there, she's sitting and gathering the reactions it has elicited and these have pleased her. "The book has opened minds," she says with pride. "We have to stop judging people so quickly. When people read this book, they have to put their judgements away. It's very easy to criticize someone but when you read why they are like the way they are, it becomes easier to understand them before judging them. I understood so much about many of them after hearing their stories. I know the world sees women like Frieha Altaf, for instance, in a certain way but after reading the book so many of them have called up and commented that they've changed their opinion about her. I also got a lot of criticism for introducing two young women amongst the older lot. But I wanted to show the difference between generations and I wanted to say that it's okay to be in your thirties and be single." The book, Kiran emphasizes, was not written as a tribute to women of the fashion industry, rather it's a mapping of the emotional journeys of the women she chose. And now that that exercise is over, a whole new personal journey seems to have begun for Kiran. As she wrote her first book, she also established her own publishing company, Still Waters Publications with Khadija Malik Hasan. Kiran promises that their publishing house will take every unsung hero's story. Their aim is to help people change lives, change perceptions and make people 'look' good in the deepest sense of the term. The process has kickstarted and how! Kiran and Khadija will be launching Revived in Lahore next month and there are plans of taking it to London, Dubai, New York and Toronto as well. Kiran believes the whole world should see this side of the Pakistani woman too. She is all too happy to help put fashion on the map too. Eventually she plans to have the book reprinted in a soft back version in Urdu for colleges and Kiran is designing a module to conduct workshops for young girls. "This book is not about making money," she says. "Every single penny made is going into free copies for colleges. We want every young girl to benefit from it." One hopes Kiran benefits from it too, as she has put her heart and soul into it. With this book she has stepped into the fashion industry, which can be a critical and unforgiving world for any outsider – she's already facing criticism for including some names and excluding others. But Kiran has proven that she can face odds. She's already thinking about her next Kiran Fine Jewellery book which will analyze the co-existence of Lahore and Karachi. With the bird's eye view that Kiran has as an 'outsider', one looks forward to reading her observations. One thing is for sure, the holistic view that she has taken just made the fashion scene a lot bigger and more real than it has ever been depicted to be. Fashion may look as flighty as gossamer and silk, but like any other industry, its foundations are stand firm in the reality of blood, sweat and tears even as its dreams take flight with those who dare. Through the lives of 14 women that we've all heard about but don't really know, Kiran forces us to see beyond the image and into their incredible humanity. Revived: The Journey Within is available at Liberty Books, KHI and will be launched in LHR on April 27. The 'Revived' theory of 4 emotional states Revived, the jewellery collection is a representation of the inner state of a woman. In the collection, each emotional state is depicted by a motif. A particular piece and motif resonates with a woman who is in that corresponding state of being. These four distinct feminine conditions are: Encaptured achieves contentment through fulfilling the roles required by family and society; she is symbolised by mother of pearl secured with antique framework that symbolises her great regard for tradition. Wired is geared towards achieving her own goals and lives by her personal sense of purpose; she is symbolised by threads of gold woven together, always on the go... to wherever she wants. Echoed is reflected in the friends she has chosen, the people she works with and her environment; she is symbolised by a dome shape of beaten gold. Stand under a dome and speak and the dome will echo you. Encircled finds a balance between her inner desires and her outer self; and so circles created of inner and outer balance represent her. She has aligned her life her way to suit her happiness.