Our social media feeds were recently inundated by a certain Brides Today India cover featuring the country’s biggest and brightest; Mahira Khan and Fawad Khan. The Humsafar pair came together after what fans may call eons, for Sadaf Fawad Khan’s SFK bridals. The shoot made people take notice not just because of the hot pairing but also the fresh avatar they appeared in. Instep spoke to the designer about the shoot and continuing with husband, Fawad Khan as brand ambassador.

The styling choices were intriguing so we wondered if they came from Sadaf herself.

"My only direction was that I didn’t want Fawad and Mahira to look like what they appear in every drama and ad where they have very safe styling. I wanted it to be remembered as a cover for a particular brand and not get lost in the milieu of shoots we see every day," she said. As for the looks, Mahira’s was created by the Indian stylist from the magazine and Fawad’s look was created by Shammal Qureshi. Since Mahira had messy, curly hair and a bronzed makeup look, Qureshi kept Fawad tan with a mustache and a kink in his hair.

The white henna addition on Mahira’s hands was the magazine’s idea but a well thought out one since white henna is big in the UAE and this shoot was about establishing the brand beyond Pakistan. Sadaf added, "We already have clientele in India and the Middle East and I wanted to position the shoot in that way." Having the shoot done in Dubai with an international team helping with the quality of the result, she felt. "We had a German photographer and someone who does the hair and makeup for Katrina so it came together well."

One wonders though, whether Sadaf worries that her brand’s fashion quotient isn’t taken seriously when it can tend to ride on her husband’s star power? "I used to feel that way but now I think it was only a mental hiccup. If you look at it from a business and marketing point of view, I don’t see a brand ambassador who’s more groomed and stylish than Fawad. He has his own personal style and that adds to the brand. Even when we didn’t do menswear he would appear in our shoots as a brand ambassador," she said.

When SFK started out she was designing pret under Silk by Sadaf Fawad Khan but has moved on from that. "Pret is not making sense anymore with so many textile mills who have collaborated with designers. They are churning out pret for Rs. 1200-2000 so to be selling designer, marketed wear we can’t aim to make that price. My business is small and exclusive – I’m pricier because I do bridal work the old school way by hand and so we cater to a niche clientele."

Sadaf has also grown her menswear range with time. "In my bridal debut we didn’t do menswear as such besides what Fawad wore as my showstopper. This year we’re doing everything but our kurtas with small motifs have gotten the most popularity since they are slightly different from what everyone else is doing." She adds that kurtas are unisex and even Mahira wore one of them to promotions. SFK plans to open a studio in Lahore this year and continue to do trunk shows around the country.

Sadaf’s new collection can be seen on Style pages 34-37