Natasha Kamal branches out to Karachi

FashionFocus

The upcoming designer launches her label at the Fashion Pakistan Lounge in Dolmen City Mall.

Karachi

After making a decent debut with Le Nouvel Espirit, her collection shown at the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion week earlier this year, and subsequently gaining popularity amongst Lahore’s fashion-savvy socialites, designer Natasha Kamal launched her label in Karachi over the weekend. The exhibition that saw the designer’s PSFW creations sit pretty on mannequins - rich, ruffled tops paired with well-structured skirts and pants, in Turkish motifs created with leather and velvet accents and metallic studs – attracted a flurry of fashionistas and media spotlight.  Amongst a handful of notable names was also her favourite muse: actress, and her aunt, Hina Bayat, clad in layered, fluid, emerald green tunic from NK’s luxury prêt line.

“For a while now we have been receiving great response from Karachi through our online sales and personal queries,” Natasha said on her decision to expand to Karachi, while speaking to Instep. “We were constantly being asked when we were coming to Karachi and we felt that now was the right time.”

Natasha has opened what can be called a store-within-store, stocking in an exclusive space inside Fashion Pakistan Lounge at Dolmen City Mall. The designer stocks with FPL in Lahore as well and hence, it was obvious that the multi-label store was her first preference to help her set foot in the busy city. Additionally, the fact that she is housed in a mall, one that attracts a sizeable crowd on a daily basis, means she can target a lot more customers compared to a high-end boutique.

The label will stock its ready-to-wear prêt line, which is popular for its minimalist and unconventional design philosophy, as well as its luxury prêt. However, it seems like most designers, Natasha too has realized the profitability of bridal wear as she dedicates a separate section for it. Bridal couture and wedding formals will be available for appointment-based orders for which Natasha will be visiting Karachi regularly.

While it’s great that Natasha is up for frequent visits, stocking ready-to-wear at multi-labels means consistent induction of new creations. This, in turn, requires that the label has an effective system in place that can meet growing demands. Natasha ensures that the business end of her label is capable enough to meet expectations.

“My brother Shahmeer Kamal handles the business side of the brand. He has created systems to meet the demands of stocking regularly while I am responsible for creating new designs periodically to sustain that system,” Natasha assured. “Shahmeer is also working on building our website, which will give greater accessibility and ease to our clients.”

Natasha forayed into fashion design early 2015 with an interesting art-meets-fashion exhibition at the Ejaz Gallery, Lahore. Her clean cuts and contemporary designs instantly grabbed the attention of those present. Such was the impact of her aesthetics that the PFDC took her on board to do a full collection for this year’s S/S15 fashion week instead of a capsule sandwiched between three or four other designers in the emerging talent section. And she lived up to expectations for hers was the best debut of the season. However, more than often, designers who leave a good impression in their debut collections either fail to carry the legacy or just aren’t consistent in their showings. Natasha intends not to fall into any of the two categories.

“My debut at PSFW was a huge challenge as my brand was not even a year old but the committee felt that I could do a full ramp collection. It was a great learning experience for me and gave me an insight into my client base,” Natasha said. “Fashion weeks not only motivate your creativity they also give you an opportunity to showcase the same. So you will be seeing us there for sure.”

Her fashion week outing may have been the strongest, but her collections have also received a fair share of criticism with respect to plagiarism. One of her outfits was an exact replica of one of Zuhair Murad’s creations while another echoed Ellie Saab’s work. It’s a serious allegation but Natasha insists that all she wanted to do was pay tribute to her favourite international designers.

“Plagiarism is copying someone’s work and trying to pass it off as your own. I very openly dedicated a piece I did as my tribute to Zuhair Murad, who has been my inspiration in taking this career path - that is not plagiarism,” Natasha asserted. “Every creative person is influenced by various mediums of expression – art, poetry, music, design, nature. Today, I even see my work reflected in the work of other designers, but I take that as a compliment.”

It appears that Natasha believes imitation to be the sincerest form of flattery. But like Wilde said, it is a form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness; a replica will always be mediocre in comparison. While it’s ok to be inspired and give an outfit your own take but to copy it frame to frame is no inspiration. Nonetheless, this doesn’t take away from Natasha’s design abilities that revolve around the chic and the glamorous and it will be interesting to see what the designer has to offer next.