Tanya Shafi, no longer a mainstream fashion model, makes an exception for Maleeha by modeling Daaman's debut collection for the launch. And looking at Tanya in such great shape, one wonders why she retired so soon!
It's always fantastic to see young fashion retailers enter the scene and the newest entrant to Karachi's burgeoning ready-to-wear market is this week's hotstepper, Maleeha Nasir. A former buyer for the store Mantra in Karachi, this young designer has truly hit the nail on the head with the launch of her label and retail store, Daaman, located at Zamzama in Karachi.
Daaman follows the retail philosophy followed abroad: stocking affordable wardrobe staples and trendy clothes in every style possible and catering to a clientele that can't deal with the run-arounds to tailors and fabric markets.
A project that took two years to take off, Maleeha is determined to make her retail venture work, ensuring that the business end of it is as sustainable as the design.
"For retail, it has to be about producing quantity. I didn't want to open a store until I was confident of the financing, the business aspect," she told Instep at the eve of Daaman's opening. And Maleeha's in this for the long haul, her eventual next steps will be to take Daaman to Lahore and Islamabad. "I want Daaman to do locally what Zara and Mango did for women abroad." Here's to hoping she and the rest of Pakistan's forward-thinking retailers can do exactly that because while having high profile shows is important, when it boils down to business, it's retail what counts and Maleeha is hotstepper for having the vision to do it with such style |
