In the fashion industry, an occurrence that tends to excite one is quite rare. With fashion weeks and new designers becoming far too commercial, there is not much to look forward to. That is until Khaadi’s Chapter 2 came into the picture!
Read more about ‘Chapter 2’ here
The launch of Chapter 2 has been much anticipated for quite some time now. For those of you who don’t know, Khaadi is now going back to its roots and bringing the original Khaadi love for hand woven fabric back to stores, under the label of Chapter 2. While florals, prints and embroideries are a key to commercial success today, Khaadi’s identity was the pure organic fabric everyone loved.
The sleek black interior is the perfect backdrop for the solid coloured ensembles
The Chapter 2 store launched at Dolmen Mall in all its glory yesterday and brought us a much-needed break from the generic prints we are so accustomed to. Keeping structured designs in mind, the store too boasts a sleek interior (with no garish lights or overdone decoration!), away from the hustle and bustle of the mall, as even the exterior of the store is strategically covered. A notable aspect of the launch was how it did not rely on celebrity presence as a means to grab attention; the clothes did that all on their own!
The racks carried designs in every colour under the sun, from simple monochromes to sunshine yellows and hot pinks, all in pure hand-woven fabrics. The trimmings and detailing on each piece was thankfully limited to perhaps a fancy button here or there, with no embroidery, no florals and no assortment of ribbons and laces. Keeping things sleek, the silhouettes were somewhat experimental, without being impractical. The high-low hemline remained a popular aspect as did crop tops and boxy cuts.
Speaking to Shamoon Sultan, the brains behind the brand, we asked what took so long to bring back the classic Khaadi. “The past so many years, we were busy sparing up Khaadi. This was always something we would go back to, because we started off with it.â€
Shamoon Sultan at the launch yesterday
Speaking of exclusivity, Shamoon informed us that the plan is to keep a single store for Chapter 2 in Karachi, soon to be followed by one each in Lahore and Islamabad. So is exclusivity the key to good fashion today? “For this kind of a brand, yes.†Shamoon admits, “Because this is not something that can be scaled up. Everything is hand woven; we don’t have that many craftsmen in Pakistan and we will probably have to train a lot of people for future requirements.†We are definitely ecstatic to hear this, because who wants to wear cookie cutter designs?
Chapter 2 also includes an exclusive line of accessories, bags, shoes, home textiles, ceramics, stationary items and more. Ladies may be wondering whether unstitched fabric is coming in too but Shamoon told us it that it is not part of the plan anytime soon.
