“I’ve always found surreal beauty in darkness. It’s strange but it’s beautiful. I am an intense person and if anyone views my intensity as something dark, I feel that is a compliment to me. From where I see it, it is something that makes me, me. And I enjoy even the speculation of it,” Fahad Hussayn leans forward and exhales. “People see drama where they want to see drama.”
He sits in his Gulberg studio that radiates his brand ethos, goth chic, a term he uses to describe it. Years ago, Fahad would have worried about what people spoke of him. Years ago, it would have dictated his creative process. He would have sat up straighter or laughed a little louder and given an interview that was a little bolder to get that applause. But it isn’t years ago, it is now, and now he’d rather let his creations, as magnificent they are, do the talking rather than working to portray an image that is more magnificent than his work. He was never a perfectionist, of course, but Fahad in his thirties knows what he has done wrong in his career and those mistakes have given him the courage and understanding of making things that now earn him the applause he always wanted.
Sitting down with Fahad over several cups of tea, one is refreshingly surprised at this man’s innate ability to be candid in an interview, although, if there is anything predictable about Fahad, it’s his ability to really say what he feels and say it in a manner that can only be described as direct and raw.
We cut to the chase and asked him whether he was part of the film and fashion collaboration; was something brewing?  While he was unable to disclose more information as of yet, he did comment on how it’s great that filmmakers are taking advantage of a more established fashion industry, to breathe life into film.
“Unfortunately, because of what this country has gone through, the one thing that has taken the most hit is our culture and our ability to rejoice and celebrate. We’ve given it all up to fear. Cinema is one of the best ways to revive who we are and I’m honoured to play even a small part in it,†he says.
The fashion industry has earned itself a reputation for behaving like a dysfunctional family. We asked Fahad about his relationships with his peers and how has this unspoken competition affected him, if at all. He looked away suddenly as if to calculate his own words. And spoke after a long pause.
“I have tremendous respect for everyone in the industry because only we understand how difficult it is to get where we all are today and where we all have taken Pakistani fashion. The joy of representing your nation and showing people that ‘this is who we are and what you all are missing out on,’ is like no other. It is true that friendships don’t last long in the fashion industry where they aren’t built on the soundest of intentions. I’ve also had to struggle in that department myself but that is how life is and you are only human. I would be lying if I say that I don’t get jealous or insecure myself but I respect and acknowledge true talent whenever I see it. I’ve met people like Maram and Aabro who have really shown me this balance and I’ve had relationships that were parasitic and vile. Such is life and we are definitely all aware of it.â€
With summer fast approaching we asked Fahad to guide us through what 2017 is looking like for him.
“As of right now I want to take every single digital print lehnga and burn it in a big bonfire. GET OVER IT!â€
After speaking with Fahad, it’s safe to predict a very exciting and full year for him and his brand. Walking us out he looked up at the trees in his garden.
“It’s strange, this feeling of contentment. It puts you at peace but also makes you fear if this is it.”
