Re-Visiting: Asian Designers in a Nutshell!

What can be more appealing to a prospective shopper of South Asian clothing in the UK, than finding authentic Pakistani designers clothes latest with the trends, a strictly NO replica policy, utterly affordable; as in SO affordable that they are sold at the same price they sell in Pakistan, exclusive designers who are only available via Asian Designers website, outfits that are readily available to buy and practically at your doorstep on the next working day, quality that is not compromised despite the lower prices AND almost every outfit sold is a couture piece! Sounds too good to be true right?

Its all about Maria Rao, the Fashion Designer, today!

I, finally, had the pleasure of meeting Maria on a professional level. Maria was actually my junior at school back in Pakistan when I lived there. We've always known each other but I never knew her on a personal or professional level as I do now.
What an inspirational young woman she is and her designs clearly speak on her behalf. Shes always had a flare for designing clothes all the way from a very young age of 11!
Shes a self taught, self-made, young very successful entrepreneur and best of all, shes as pleasant as a lovely summer's breeze on a very hot day!
Maria's first ever clothing exhibition was at the age of 16 and what a turning point it was for her career. There was no going back for her! She invested all her time, money and efforts into her flourishing passion alongside her education which was never put on hold!
I guess that is where I see a hardworking, self-made entrepreneur..
Today, she has ten plus people working for her; from an assistant to embroiderers and tailors to even an accountant and best of all I got to see them live in action.
My visit to Karachi in December held so much importance to me as I scheduled in my visits with each of my designers. I don't just do business with them but I develop a friendship too and its a hundred times easier when the people I work with are genuinely nice; it makes my job just the best!

So after a few frustrating moments with the driver, the traffic and the directions, me and my sister finally made it to Maria's workshop tucked away in quite a central, commercial location. We were given a very warm welcome and were offered the best 'kadak' chai ever (Pakistani authentic cooked tea)!!
Not only did I thoroughly enjoy my tea but I was also ecstatic to hand pick Maria's next collection for Asian Designers from a wide variety of gorgeous contemporary Eastern clothing. Maria's designs are very unique to her; she likes to keep the Eastern touch in her embellishments but ensures that the Western touch is incorporated in her cuts too.

Maria's designs are brought to reality in this workshop; here are the tailors' heads down and just getting on with it!

The embroiderer on the left really fascinated me; he has so many little embellishments, diamante`, myriad threads etc to deal with yet gives a fantastically clean finish to each and every outfit designed by Maria!
The picture on the right is the Ironing room where the outfit is quality checked and ironed ready to be sold.

 

Here I am with the lovely, gorgeous Maria and yes that's some of her collection behind me!

If you haven't already checked out Maria's collection on our website, make sure you do now :)
If you're not already following me on my social networking sites, then please do now:

w w w . a s i a n d e s i g n e r s . c o . u k 

marwa@asiandesigners.co.uk

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Marwa Visits Agha Noor in Karachi

This year, I mean , last year now (December 2014), I decided to pack my suitcases and whizz off to my family home in Karachi to visit my dear mum and dad. Ofcourse, the trip would've been utterly incomplete without paying a visit to one of Asian Designers very successful designer's new store, Agha Noor, at Dolmen Mall.

 

I visited the store on several occasions; to meet Hira (CEO of Agha Noor), to order the new collection and to collect it too. During my back and forth visits, I noticed a trend in how Agha Noor's store was. It was busy! Whether it was in the afternoon, evening or even at night! The store was heaving at all times and most of the time the racks had been emptied in the evening by hungry customers' shopping during the day or I'd see customers literally snatching kurtas out of each others hands! Blimey, talk about serious buyers!

To add substance to my above stated comments, here are the evidences:

The shop itself is simple in white and gold, modern and very spacious making it a pleasant place to walk around with massive, comfy, cushioned sofas in the middle for people who tag along shoppers but aren't actually shopping! Like bored kids or elderly people..

Whats New at Agha Noor?
Agha Noor have extended their 'just selling' kurtas policy to now selling pencil trousers in various colours and sizes (coming soon to AD), matching lace/net shawls, two-piece outfits (kurtis and trousers as a set) and even three-piece suits (all coming to AD very soon!)

Stay tuned and the new collection will be coming up soon!!!
If you're not already following me on my social networking sites, then please do now:

w w w . a s i a n d e s i g n e r s . c o . u k 

marwa@asiandesigners.co.uk

00447849877528

It's a 'Bin' day morning!

And here I am all tucked up on this cold, windy night with a nice cup of tea..Oops, actually almost finished it now! Clearly I couldn't wait to gulp it down to quench that caffeine thirst I have been craving for, all day.

I am actually wanting to write so much but cant get my words or my thoughts in conjunction. My thoughts usually go at a hundred miles an hour whilst my words are almost always battling to keep up with the thoughts; a bit like umm ..sshhh, xfactor in the background really not helping the writing cause!

Perhaps you could chuckle a little about my morning 'putting the bins out' encounter. So there I am deep in sleep when I suddenly realise, its bin day! I jump out of bed and shove my head scarf on, stumbling down the stairs and actually stand in the hallway thinking I still have a while before the collection but NO! I could hear the truck approaching, the hazard beeps going off, the bin man actually outside my DOOR! Oh dear, I frantically got my keys into the door and call out to the bin man "Please, waiiiittt!!" This is where it goes all wrong; I got two pink bags out safe and sound but on my second trip into the house and into the garage, I first stepped right into some paint cleaning spirit liquid that was very conveniently and strategically positioned by my lovely husband but I had no time to stop and waste so I carried on with my mission! Picked up the next recycling bag and that too was a mission; when did my bloody garage turn into an assault course? Bags, boxes, my Asian Designers packaging material, a bed-side table that my husband no longer wanted to see in the bedroom! All in all, I was well and truly awakened by this trivial yet challenging morning.

Rushing out of the garage had its consequences too; I took my spirit-drenched slippers off and thought now I can make it out of the garage without any further complications. Notice how I am using some very harsh words for 'not-a-very' harsh situation. I guess I was too optimistic to hope for a stress and pain free journey out of the obstacle course.

I banged my right knee straight into the door frame. This was serious! At this point, not only was I in agony but I had to PRETEND that all was OK with spirit-drenched feet and now a battered knee; all that and I still didn't get this last darned pink recycling bag to the bin man outside! Eventually I swallowed the scream from the bang, forced a smile on, limped to the front door and handed over the bin to the man whom I also had to call out to as he had gone past my house already! I know I looked like a character never seen before; a woman with a fake smile and black eyes from the smudged mascara with a distorted looking hijab on her head and pjs! I cannot even begin to fathom what I may have come across as but you know what? I DID it!

I immediately shut the front door and I well and truly needed to scream over that excruciating knee collision I had had only a minute ago and I put on hold! Its important to realise all of the above happened in less than two minutes. Oh my days, I have never been a morning person and I guess almost eleven years later, I still am an incompetent morning person.

My day did get a little bit better to be honest but I have had to succumb to walking with a limp. My husband noticed it too and the children made sure they told their dad about my accident and the cliché` joke was : Is the DOOR OK?! and then more clichéd questions like " What did this morning teach you?" I mean seriously? Am I supposed to sit there and admit " Oh yeah, I should've woken up earlier or perhaps sorted it out the night before". Seriously what is the expected answer? Anyone?
YES, I can still be the biggest, stubborn child in the world despite being married for over a decade and being a mother of two!

Come on, this isn't just a 'normal' morning is it? I actually thought it was worth a blog ;)

Around 'the Karachi' in Three Days!

So its been a while since I actually updated you all about my latest happenings, precisely about my flowery, dreamy Asian Designers concept. Well, in fact, its slowly turning into a 'real' reality!! Hoorah!

And here i am thinking of how to describe my exhilarating journey of making Asian Designers into a reality. Hmm shall I start with my rather bizarre flight from Abu Dhabi to Karachi; a 'male dominated' flight, a 'no business-class' flight, the guessing game of 'who will I end up sitting next to?' flight! *Sigh* That seriously needs a blog on its own.

Once I made it safely to 'the' Karachi, my 'meet the designers' journey began and boy was it exciting! I met some extremely inspirational ,successful women who have worked harder than I could imagine to get to where they are today!
Imagine a Pakistani version of 'Britain's got talent' but no Simon, only me as the judge! I almost started getting so sentimental about all this, I wanted to feel the designers' genuine desire to grow, to achieve, to 'woo' me. Once I felt all of the above, I knew who I wanted to work with. I wanted a story behind each one of them and no I would never write a book! Although, I will elaborate each designers' inspirational tales of success at a later stage unless I have already done that below!

Ethos by Nadia Batool:
Although I did not get to meet Nadia in my 3 day excursion, I have personally known Nadia for over five years now. Known her since she lived in the UK whilst doing her masters degree in Fashion Design.
Now Nadia is one of those people that you instantly find amicable, charming, genuine, lovable, cherubic..umm yes I know I have practically used up all the perfect descriptive words in the English dictionary on one person, but she really is and you have got to believe me! Her designs speak of her personality and character, she wanted to portray fashion in the same sense that she would like to see herself wearing. Style and modesty put together became her ultimate vision! She promised that as soon as her masters was over, she was going to launch Ethos and her signature statement became 'Less skin more You'.
 I even took part in a video interview conducted by Nadia at the time to help her out with her dissertation. I wish I had never seen it; I looked no less than a whale, just not in the sea ! Alright, I am exaggerating but I resembled one during my late pregnancy days!
On a serious note going back to Nadia and her urban chic collection, I just knew that me and Nadia will end up working together even though we had a few futile attempts before I stopped being lazy and shook business to business hands with this wonderfully talented woman :)

Agha Noor:
Hira;This 24 year old young, extremely motivated, 'sky is the limit' entrepreneur blew me away with her humility, simplicity and at the same time her business shrewdness.
 All this in a span of two hours that I got to meet with her; first at her store then a business meeting over lunch. She is the true meaning of a business woman who does not see as launching her own brand's four stores in an astonishing two years as enough! Shes on fire and she will achieve it. She designs her own range, shops for her ranges' material, mentors her workers, keeps an eye on every piece produced, does her own accounts and all this with a placid, mellow attitude. Her business model is simple; you pay consistently reasonable prices for a high quality product. In turn using this strategy to her benefit; profits are based on volume and shes done it.
People admire her designs, love her unbeatable prices and cannot keep their hands off her collection as soon as it hits the shops!
Infact, the day I arrived in Karachi, a few hours later I ventured into Zamzama to meet this soft-spoken, extremely polite human being that I had been conversing with over the phone. I arrive outside her newly opened second shop on the same lane as her first shop and as soon as I stepped inside, or just about, I had to squeeze past the 'Agha Noor kurta-hungered' masses inside the store! Trying to catch the attention of the shop-keepers was another story..'ex..' 'exccuuse' 'excuseeee me, can you please inform Hira that Marwa is here to see her?' Shop-keeper: 'She's not here and I am busy'. Anyhow, after a few attempts of enforcing the matter, Hira finally emerges from her office and what a meet and greet that was! She greeted me with arms-wide open as though we had been friends for decades; delightful :) . Agha Noor's collection falls in the Smart-Casual Kurta category and its already proving quite successful!

Nadia Hussain: 
Need I say no more. She is Pakistan's super-model, shes elegant, shes intelligent and as they say shes got the beauty as well as the brains. Shes an exceptionally busy mum of three and a wife alongside running multiple careers simultaneously; a modelling career, a salon (soon to open), a stunning clothing range, a skin clinic but actually a dentist by profession! Phew, that list was exhaustive. Despite, this intensely busy lifestyle, Nadia welcomed me into her home and we talked business for hours! She was receptive to all my ideas and in turn I accommodated her requirements too and, there, a business relationship was born.
If you want to do business, then base it on honesty. There is absolutely no point in going into business when your fundamentals are unstable; you might as well not go down that route in the first place!
I found Nadia inspirational to me because of the number of things she juggles in her life and yet makes the most of all the opportunities that come her way. I am due to receive her first collection next week and I'm so feeling the excitement, oh yes!
Nadia's collection is more Western influenced cuts with an Eastern touch for party and semi-formal occasions.

Contempo:
Akbar and Saira; a heart warming couple that felt they just couldn't do enough for me. If there is a new friendship that has truly flourished then it has got to be with this gracious couple.
I have known them for over a year. It was when I decided to sell western clothing in Pakistan through their shop.
Since then we developed a very accommodating working relationship as well as a good friendship. Before my visit to Karachi, I decided Contempo would be my supplier for their newly launched casual Eastern wear range and so we were in talks about how this would work for the both of us. Saira is the main designer of this new venture for Contempo; she is a teacher during the day and a mother, a wife and a designer in the evening. I am currently awaiting the arrival of their stock in the near future; this collection will fill my casual Kurta corner!

So that is it for now but upcoming networking events for me are:

Asiana Exhibition in London on the 26th of Jan
Asian Bridal event in Manchester on the 16th of March (Fashion Show and Stall)

If you are around, come and say hello!!

Time to share the feelings I hold for AD

For all those who don't know what Asian Designers (AD) is all about, here is a little something for you to read..Happy Reading !!

Asian Designers has very recently launched into an online designers store that exhibits exclusive fusion clothing of the latest Asian as well as Western fashion and trends straight from the heart of South Asia. The 'Asian Designers' concept is unique in the sense that it gives emerging and talented Pakistani designers the opportunity to showcase their exotic work in this side of the globe.
In turn, my role, amongst other things, is to relay to the designers what the latest British trends are so they may incorporate it in their seasonal collections to ultimately produce clothing that would appeal to all and not confined to a specific, niche` market.
I recently directed a photoshoot for my online website where I chose locations in my local town that would depict the 'look and feel' of Britain. I chose a traditional fishing town called Old Leigh for the photoshoot, I captioned it in my mind as 'The Rustic East'. I paired the Eastern kurtas with trousers and Western jewellery to amalgamate it into fashion with a difference. Its the little things that make a big difference.
With my fashion ideology above, I can confidently say that each designer has something unique to offer and most importantly, there's a story behind each one that makes me believe in their passion.
I sincerely hope AD will please its customers and be successful, not just for my own benefits but mainly for those who inspire me, the designers.

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A typical day in a life of an EgyAsian Mum

I am not an overly confident writer, blogger etc or anything like that but I find myself writing when I genuinely have something to say.. Rather to write!

So I start..I start my day as a typical mum with little ones chaotically surrounding me but equally 'too tired' to get ready for school; just as lazy as their mum in this sense. We overcome the first hurdle of using the bathroom within a certain time frame, then move on to another timely occurrence of actually getting ready for school and the rest follows; brushing hair (this includes a series of 'excruciating' expressions and rather unreasonable comments from my 8 year old daughter towards myself for putting her through 'the worst time of the day' according to her!), breakfast dramas and finally one loud "Come onnnnnnnn we're late for school" roar from me. That usually does not suffice, as my 4 year old son always likes to think last minute delays will earn some extra time at home. His thought process: hmm how can I make this harder for mum? I know!! I want a snack mamma!! Me: Ok, a choob or a Kelloggs breakfast bar..Quickkkk! We are running late for school!!. Son: A choob, but I want the lion one. At this point, I almost rewind life back to when I was me without the multiples and the school runs and the responsibilities. Do bear in mind, this thought is usually held for a split second before I am transported back to reality and there I can hear the nagging, the complaints, the cries etc etc (I love them, really!).

Making it to school on time is my daily challenge which despite all the obstacles we face in the mornings, 99.9% of the times the children are never late for school. When my challenge is achieved, it then turns into a daily milestone too! Anddd tick, brownie point for the mummy. Happy mummy makes happy children too! Notice how I did not say it vice versa  :P

You see I could not possibly sustain just living for this all day everyday, so i thought I needed a bit more vivacity in my life and my thoughts jigsawed rightly into a little business idea. Yes, there is always time for pondering beyond children and the chaos. My Asian Designers concept has been the extra spice of my day for about a month now.

I am literally jumping out of my seat every time I see my friends, not because I have missed them (ofcourse, I have!), but because I suddenly cannot control my excitement and want to talk talk talk about my exhilarating (atleast to me) venture. 

I am sure I will be back here, blogging again in a few days. New day, new experience and a new experience always creates meaningful words too :)

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