 There
is a saying: Necessity is the mother of invention.
That's the saying and Ayesha Omer and Anoushey Ashraf are the real-life
examples of.
Two bright young women with more professional experience than most
others of their age. Ayesha and Anoushey can easily be called the
pioneers of the VJing scene, helming a new culture of music and
MTV into Pakistan. They have all the popularity that their star
status gives without the airs and graces. They are their audience:
young, vivacious and full of positive attitude.
Now their success is going beyond entertainment and into fashion.
Both are industries that go hand in hand. The glamour and glitz
of one can never be complete without the other. This is the part
where the adage 'necessity is the mother of invention' comes into
play. Ayesha and Anoushey were working on a shoot for the multi-designer
store Labels; the girls being as creative and talented as they
are were helping the team come up with themes for the shoot. Their
extrovert personalities provided fun and whimsy but the clothes
didn't match the girl's concepts. According to them, Zahir Rahimtoola
of Labels suggested that they come up with a line of clothes for
the store. "He said if you're working on all of this for
the shoot, why don't we just design a collection. We went home
and thought about it and it seemed doable."
 The Ayesha/Anoushey ready-to-wear brand was born and even the name
is simple and straight forward just like the brains behind the
brand. "We've been in TV for a while and it's exciting
for people like us to diversify to a certain extent," Ayesha
says. It's show business, it's glamour and what is more glamorous
than fashion and clothes with the plus point of having creative
control. "We're not designers," says Ayesha, this is
something that both of them want to make clear: they are not designers. "But
we have our own aesthetic sense since we make our own clothes."
To be wearing an Ayesha/Anoushey creation means to take a style
note right out of their closets. Anoushey says, "When something
gets ready we go and we'll try it on and see if it feels right
when we wear it. Everything I'm going to make is something I'm
going to enjoy wearing myself. That's what I keep in mind." It
may seem like quality control, which is also important to Ayesha
and Anoushey but it focuses more on the aspect of 'what would I
wear?' The girls also make it clear that they are not focusing
on profit margins so early on in their venture, they'd rather work
on making affordable clothes that they can put their name on and
not only put garments on the racks that would sell but not what
they would wear.
 When celebrities do anything it doesn't stay quiet for long. The
initial 20 pieces that were put up at Labels without any fanfare
sold fast, exceeding everyone's expectations. "We were surprised
that so many people knew," the girls both exclaim. "We
were getting calls from people telling us that they were so happy
about us doing this," Ayesha adds. "Designer Maheen
Khan called us and said, 'Why didn't you invite me to your launch?'
we told her that we didn't have one." Eventually word spread
and people came knocking and were asking for the clothes by name.
Ayesha and Anoushey's collection is mostly in cotton and lawn,
perfect for the summer that we're in the depths of. Bright colors
and bold patterns make up the aesthetics that have fashionistas
talking about the brand. Ayesha gives a little insight into the
initial design stage, "We thought about doing western wear
and doing something hip and trendy but then we thought how many
people actually wear western wear and those that do, buy from abroad." The
girls are involved whole-heartedly into designing their collection
and do everything from buying cloth to repeated visits with tailors
as well as sketching their latest ideas. "We go to the cloth
markets and we choose and buy everything ourselves." Ayesha
says on the process behind putting together a brand. "We design
everything and the production is done by Labels' in-house tailors." Despite
the immediate success the girls are still humble about how they
have been received by fashion-goers and have their heads down to
concentrate on their next collection which will be ready and available
for Eid. The Ayesha/ Anoushey Eid collection will feature cottons
as well as chiffons and silks with a little embroidery in keeping
with their design philosophy.
 What makes the chemistry work with these two young women? Ayesha
and Anoushey are like twins when they talk, they are on the same
wavelength and when they answer a question they both have the same
answer but are courteous enough to offer the other to speak first.
This humble and down-to-earth approach is visible in their fashion
partnership, there is no doubt about it, they make a good team!
Anoushey says, "The good thing is that we're on the same page
maybe because we're really good friends and have spent a lot of
time together." This teamwork and positivity is what's needed
to make any venture successful. Ayesha is out and about working
12 hour days shooting for various TV serials and zipping around
to meet with Anoushey or her support staff at Labels. Anoushey
is also busy with work but when the two come together to conceptualize
and execute their clothing there is a spark that just makes it
all work.
 The Ayesha/Anoushey design philosophy is "fun, trendy, ready-to-wear!
We both love colors and I'm not a beige, black and white person.
In the summer's it's nice to add a splash of color to yourself;
it's what the summer is all about," says Ayesha excitedly.
Anoushey adds her design perspective, "I don't have the design
in my head but when I see a fabric I think about how I would like
to wear it as a tunic or a kameez."
They aren't trying to corner a market share or trying to find another
avenue for fame. An idea presented itself and Ayesha and Anoushey
are just the type of people who won't let a good opportunity pass
them by. The ideas and perspectives one gets from being an outsider,
in this case in the fashion world, ultimately brings in a new dynamic
since profit is not the main goal their clientele have the advantage
of good quality yet inexpensive clothes. "We thought as TV
personalities we'd be bringing out a brand for people in Pakistan
that was generally affordable," says Anoushey on the need
for a affordable ready-to-wear clothes. "We go through a lot
of designer wear; it's not accessible to everyone, the common man
can't walk into multi label stores and buy anything. Our idea was
that since our market lies with the masses and TV it's a good idea
to launch a brand instead of designer wear because we're not designers."
Not being designers has also helped them seem more accessible to
the women who pick up their pieces. Most designers are fashion
dictators but fashion should be fun and give the person wearing
an ensemble confidence no matter what the price. It's important
to feel like yourself even if what you're wearing is not at the
absolute height of fashion; the Ayesha/Anoushey brand aims to provide
this new easy going form of fashion.
Photography: Ayaz Anis |
