Meet designer brothers Nabeel and Aqeel who are putting Pakistan on the international fashion scene. The designer duo not only have their own collections ranging from casual to bridal wear for both men and women; they also have opened the store Wardrobe in Pakistan which provides high end designer wear from the world's best designers. Read on to learn more about how they got started and where they are headed...

PIC

Please introduce yourself to our readers:

After getting degrees in Business Administration and Economics we wanted to start a business with a new concept for Pakistan, with products which are representative of modern age, that have a unique product ID, future in national and international market, competitiveness and creativity. It’s been 10 years since Aqeel and I started our journey in fashion business when we launched the first of its kind, European style Fashion store Wardrobe in Lahore. Since then, we have never looked back and ventured further into the world of fashion, style and art. Wardrobe became the first solo distributor of Calvin Klein Jeans in 1999. In this short time we have opened the doors for Pakistani fashion lovers to the world’s top fashion brands by introducing and retailing the latest collections of brands like Valentino, Versace, Canali, Gianfranco Ferre, Cerruti 1881, Dapper, Burberry and many more introduced under Wardrobe’s logo. We also started our own label “Nabeel & Aqeel” and showcased our debut collection in 1999. After receiving tremendous response from the public and clients, we started working very hard to develop this brand as a true international brand keeping at par with the global standards of professionalism and style. Under the Nabeel & Aqeel label, we kept adding collections of more fashion lines and now we have a wide range of fashion lines which includes Ready to Wear collection, Jeans collection, The Wedding Collection, Cocaine Collection, Fusion Collection, Jewelry Collection and Men’s Accessories.

Tell us about your education and where you received formal training as a designer?

We grew up and studied in Lahore, the city of great historical events, grand mosques, buildings and art. It is the cultural hub of Pakistan and the city of poets. Aqeel is 3 years younger than I, and we both attended Government College in Lahore. Aqeel has a degree in Business Administration and I have a Masters Degree in Economics from University of the Punjab and an MBA as well. We got a lot of training from books, extensive worldwide traveling and international exposure. This has been augmented by formal training courses in fashion, brands and retailing. Aqeel was selected on merit for an internship with Armani that enabled him to get hands on experience for being part of the team of a global fashion brand.

How did you decide to get into designing clothing for both men and women?


Soon after we opened Wardrobe, we felt that there is a big market for brands which are very fashionable, trendy, classy, and high quality yet affordable for the larger segment of our population. Initially we looked for brands like Van Huesan, Perry Ellis, and Geoffrey Beene as they are not very expensive. Fortunately, our parents gave us the idea to become the creator of our own collection because we had very clear concepts in our mind about what kind of cuts, fabrics and products are in demand. Under the umbrella of Wardrobe, we started selling our brand along with Valentino, Canali, Cerruti, Calvin Klein and Versace. In order to get the Nabeel & Aqeel outfits noticed, we have had to, and still do, strive very hard to match our collection with these international famous brands in quality and style. This level of quality of our brand is what makes us popular with the business community.

You both are brothers, how has the experience of working together been for you?

It has been great, we have always been very close as siblings and working together came naturally to us. We complement each other well and balance out each other’s personalities. Of course there are off days and issues that we disagree on, but we have yet to come across an issue that can not be resolved by dialogue and compromise.

Do you both design? Who designs for the women and who does the men’s line?

Yes, we both design and it is a combined effort. Both of us have so many ideas, concepts and philosophies related to fashion in our minds all the time. Aqeel and I exchange our ideas and concepts when we look at international trends, fashion forecasts, colors and fabrics trends for the coming seasons. Many small details and technicalities are involved in designing each collection from cuts to necklines, lengths to fittings, buttons to fabrics, colors to motifs, thread to linings etc. We make sure that not even the tiniest detail goes without thought and each step of creating the finished garment is planned with quality and high standard. For example, when we were designing the Nabeel & Aqeel Men’s 2008/09 collection, we decided that we will have two button suits with double vents at the back, sleek and soft collar in super 120’s super fine Italian wool. It is a long process that involves designing, producing and supervising of quality standards.

Who are your clients? What is your design philosophy?

Our clients range from professionals like doctors, engineers, bankers to successful businessmen and elite. Most of them are highly informed, educated and well traveled. They are aware of latest international fashion trends and high standards of quality and they rate us as good as our competitors.

We have been successful in taking the essence of Pakistani women wear and translating it for the international market; while at the same time, bringing the finesse of Italian Men’s wear into the Pakistani market. This is a unique attribute to fashion designing in Pakistan. Our collection is our vision of how Pakistani fashion could look on the international ramp. We have attempted to tap the unmet need by bringing out collections that negate the stagnant old fashioned Pakistani designs; this has helped us in portraying our cultural identity and put it onto a global fashion canvas.

How has the experience of working in the US and UK been for you both? Does that directly impact your designs or do you keep in mind what will work in Pakistan?

Yes, the UK and US markets and clients have their own requirements; they want more soft, subtle and practical clothes as compared to the market in Pakistan. Thus, the experience of working for foreign clients has been great. The important thing is that most of our clients within Pakistan have their fashion sense relevant to European fashion. Since each design of Nabeel & Aqeel reflects the international style and practical wearability, selling and producing for UK and US clients does have a good impact on our design philosophy.

Tell us what kind of budget should one keep in mind when ordering a bridal from you and what do you offer that the`other designers don’t?

It totally depends on the client’s requirement, her wishes and the embellishment materials to be used on the dress. We believe in exquisite hand embellishments using high quality stones, tilla, beads, diamante, french chiffons, finest silks, silk jamawars, atlas and other rare materials to enhance the look of the dresses. This comes with the prerequisite of having the best and most experienced craftsmen who give special importance to neatness, cuts and quality in every inch of the bridal dress. We want our brides to have a unique identity of being classy and yet looking very rich culturally. The budget can range from anywhere between $1,000 dollars to $10,000 dollars or even more.

Lastly, what is your message to the readers of The Saturday Post?

I would like to wish the readers of The Saturday Post the best of luck in all their aspirations. I just have one message for the readers; there are no short cuts in life. Hard work is involved in everything you do, so the best thing is to work hard towards a clear focus in life. Even people who try to find short cuts end up working hard for the wrong reasons. What we should all do is to identify our goals in our lives, test our goals against standards of patriotism, religion or humanity and then devote all our waking moments to achieving that goal. Only by doing so will we achieve something to make us proud of ourselves.