By Onaiza Zaheer
Apart from being traditional today the woman is now expected to be fashionable, trendy, suave and professional-all at the same time. This represents the complete woman in our fast changing society.
Launching new ball gowns collection and bridal collection and new funky Sari collection, Sarah Gandapur is expert in making women beautiful and graceful. Her collections display items that cater to the needs of women whether they are professionals, housewives or trendy young girls thus allowing them to exude the confidence, power and attitude that only a complete woman possesses.
Sarah Gandapur Design was founded in 2005, formerly after she studied fashion design and starting an in-house studio.
Dealing in traditional hand and machine embroidered eastern and western clothes. She also provides clothes to people living abroad to remain in touch with their Eastern roots, with a twist of Western design. She designs high fashion clothes, eastern and western pret and couture collections.
Sarah won numerous awards for participating in international fashion weeks and exhibitions, awarded for being the “Best Fashion Journalist” on the International Women Day. Also has been a jury member three times for the Lux Style Awards. Recently she won ARY Film Award for Best Fashion Desginer for the movie Chambeli.
1) How would you describe yourself as a fashion designer?
As a fashion designer I would say that I have a flair for designing outfits which are wearable with lots of class and at the same time being very stylish! I focus on cuts and fabrics which compliment the body I believe that over embellished or loud clothes aren't always the answer to achieving style!
2) From where you seek inspiration?
Growing up my mother was my style icon, watching her I learnt how to mix style with class as for inspiration it comes from anything small or big!
3) What main things you keep in your mind while making your clothes?
Wear ability, quality, uniqueness and easy on the pocket.
4) What makes a person stylish?
Style is something that reflects your personality but nowadays people copy or pick up styles and trends easily but not everyone has the brains or ability to pull it off! Style for me is inborn!
5) What is the price range of your brand?
Pret wear I start at 5000 and couture start at 15000 and so on.
6) What do you think are the essential elements of being a successful women designer?
Well to begin with in Pakistan you need to have a lot of contacts hahaha! On a serious note your work speaks for itself and also different people have different tastes so if your clients are happy with your work they keep coming back for more. Also it's important to make clothes which have a wearability element that caters to the masses.
7) Would you like to do something in menswear?
I used to do men's wear but due to work load and the fact that women's wear was my forte, I went back to designing women's wear only!
8) What type of clothes you love to design?
I love to make clothes that have a lot of design elements and cuts based mostly experimenting with mixing of fabrics and all! So much fun really!
9) Do you have any research when you start a new collection?
Well sometimes I make mood boards for collection but I usually design spontaneously.
10) Any advice for new up coming fashion designers?
Yes please don't come into this field thinking its all glitz and glamour where everyone gets rich making clothes it's a tough business to with lots of competition so choose wisely!
11) Do you have any up coming collection that “SARAH GANDAPUR” Fans should be looking forward to?
Yes my new ball gowns collection and bridal collection is something I am very excited about and just completed and showed my new funky Sari collection in my recent she in Colombo, Sri Lanka which was a hit AlhamdulilALLAH!
12) What led you discover your spirit of fashion designing?
Well when I was small I used t go shopping with my mother to the Kapra bazar in Peshawar which is famous for the amazing cloth available there so I developed a love and knowledge of quality fabrics since my mom's an expert in fabric and all. Probably started from there rest just came when I joined fashion school in Lahore PIFD and later BETS and so on!
13) What does fashion mean to you?
Fashion is my passion but being able to set trends in design is something that I love doing and fashion is my gateway to doing just that!
14) Do you have any other passions besides fashion?
Yes, I love writing and hence enjoy being a journalist as well as being a designer.
15) Who would you like to see wearing your clothes?
Nicole Kidman, J lo and Beyonce. Love these women's sense of fashion and all they represent.
16) As a designer what is the biggest challenge you face?
Well designing a new collection is always a challenge not because of competing with other designers but competing with ones own self to do a better job then before create something that looks good and feels even better when wearing
17) What are your future goals?
Future goals involve starting a prêt store like Khaadi my favorite Pakistani brand. They have the vision and great designs that have gone beyond borders and more! Simultaneously making out publication ILS even bigger and better inshALLAH!
18) If not a designer, you will be?
I would be a full time journalist haha!
19) What are your views about the fashion industry growth?
It’s wonderful and heartening to see that our fashion industry has grown so much over the years and I must salute and thank our pioneering designers from Karachi and Lahore who have opened the doorway for us today to make fashion our means for earning and make it an amazing field to be a part of! Also I think due credit has to be given to the fashion weeks that are being held around Pakistan and abroad! Future seems bright and sunny for fashion in our country!
20) Which international brand is your favorite?
I love many international brands can't really name one. You see the beauty of those brands is that they each have their unique style and have their own customers that prefer them!
21) What is your secret of success?
Well I don't really think I am that successful I am young and have a long way to go success is different for each person! But hard work and being your on person helps a lot! Be clear that is what you want and then go for it success will come to you in good time no need to run after it!
22) How do you take criticism?
Positive and negative criticism is well I don’t pay attention hahaha!!
23) How you feel when you won best fashion designing award for CHAMBAILI? Chambaili is a film which has been very close to my heart it was one of the best experience s of my life it taught me so much how to deal with situations and people how to put in a the hard work and sweat and working as a team even when it gets very hard to do so! Getting an award for a film the first of its kind in the history of a country made me very proud and I think team Chambaili and ALLAH for giving me this!
24) What is best gossip you heard about yourself?
Frankly and thankfully I haven't heard much gossip about myself but the funniest was when my friend Kiran from band Caramel called to congratulate me on my engagement to my good friend Atif Aslam haha! Which was of course not true?
25) How you handle controversies?
I ignore evil minded people who create controversies around me I stay away from them at all costs if I have to get involved I try to side with the right and fight the wrong. SIMPLE
26) What scope you seek in fashion journalism for women of Pakistan?
Well, I am not one to constantly criticize my country and go on about how women are so suppressed in this country! I don’t think our educated class especially is suppressed and that is the reason why today most of the women journalists whether in fashion or art and current issues are flourishing and are respected individuals deriving heavy amounts from their jobs! I think the scope is great and growing thanks to media also!
RAPID FIRE
1) SARAH GANDAPUR in one line
a kind person
2) Your day start with
Starts with BismilALLAH and looking at my phone haha!
3) Favorite model
Saima Azhar, she pulled off my Pakhtoon collection which no other model probably could and Rizwan ul Haq for doing a fantastic job with the photography and Jia Ali as she is still rocking and a great human being!
4) Favorite movie
Dirty dancing and many more
5) One thing you dislike about fashion
Can get over rated sometimes
6) You bust your stress by
By praying and being in the company of people I love and appreciate. Also by spending quality time with my pet cats and dogs! My babies!
7) Latest purchase
Samsung Note 3
8) What puts you off
People and there fakeness and the ability of being so shallow and two faced!
9) Favorite color
Red tops all colors for me!
10) Favorite fashion brand
Tom Ford, Gucci, Marc Jacobs and many more!
11) Your inspiration
Life and events
12) Favorite fragrance
Nowadays Flower Bomb by Victor & Rolf
13) One dream that lays unfulfilled
I can’t think of right now haha shall let u know when I find out!
14) Biggest regret
Not becoming a lawyer as is the family tradition my father really wanted me to do that but my heart was in fashion I just hope n pray that my parents are proud of me today and always !