Pakistan fashion Industry

 

Pakistan's fashion business

The Pakistani fashion industry is dominated by Lahore, Karachi, and Islamabad. Collectives such as Fashion Pakistan in Karachi and the Pakistan Fashion Design Council in Lahore guide the sector. The industry serves the summer season, sometimes known as the lawn season in the business, and the spring season. The grass season, which continues to be popular in Pakistan and among South Asians in the West, creates lightweight, breezy clothes with pure cotton yarn, ranging from salwar kameez to airy tunic and trouser suits. grass season is also known for its fashion wars, in which designers battle for a share of the grass business, which is believed to be worth USD 50 billion. Gul Ahmed, Maria Butt, and others are well-known fashion industry names and companies.Shamoon Sultan, Zara Shahjahan, Deepak Perwani, Sanam Chaudhri, Khadijah Shah, Hussain Rehar, and Zainab Chottan are among the cast members.

The fashion business initially catered to affluent customers, and exorbitant pricing kept most goods out of reach of the general public. The emergence of the urban class, working women, and more discretionary money, on the other hand, resulted in an expansion of the fashion industry's consumer base. Aside from that, by 2017, a drop in textile exports prompted the large brands to embrace the middle class; this has resulted in greater competitiveness and output throughout the grass season, the goods of which are in high demand virtually all year. As a result of the drop in exports in 2017, numerous textile producers developed their own brands.

Fashion businesses, on the other hand, have recently included societal concerns into their social media campaigns in order to broaden their audience. Generation, for example, advocates for diversity and is recognised for showcasing "real women" in order to challenge stereotyped beauty standards. Generation also utilised hashtag campaigns such as #StepOutside to advocate for women's recovery of public places. Under the #Imadeyourclothes campaign, other labels, such as Zara Shahjahan, advocated for the acknowledgement of the labourers behind the fashion industry, such as karigars and tailors. In response to suspicions that the campaign was a PR gimmick, the owner of Zara Shahjahan stated that most work in Pakistan is well compensated, claiming that tailors are paid PKR one to 1.4 lakh.

Pakistan's Fashion Industry's Potential

The PBF President expressed disappointment that the industry was not pursuing the textile sector's export potential. The textile and garment industry's export value amounted at USD 1.336 billion in April 2021, a 230.17% rise from USD 403.832 million in the same time the previous year. The Economic Coordination Committee's agreement to import duty-free cotton yarn until the end of June 2021 is credited with the increase.According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2019-20, despite a -2.57 percent drop in Jul-Mar FY2020, textile exports increased by 4.51 percent to USD 10461 million. In July, the President of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry stated that Pakistani fashion companies such as Maria B and Khaadi had established themselves in the UK, US, and Middle East, clearing the door for them to enter the worldwide fashion market.

Pakistan's Fashion Industry Facing Difficulties

Despite a hopeful image, the business confronts a number of obstacles from a variety of sources.

First, there are worries about employees' rights. When the COVID-19 epidemic reached Pakistan in 2020, textile workers' unions protested against forced layoffs and nonpayment of salary as fashion firms cut back on supply. The workers' claims come a year after Human Rights Watch called on Pakistan to reform labour rules and provide basic salaries for manufacturing workers in 2019. According to HRW, Pakistan has long failed to pay garment workers and has created hazardous working conditions for them.Second, there has been criticism from conservatives. Several conservatives see the fashion industry as a Western import that is ruining Pakistan's morals. The Hum Style Awards recently drew widespread criticism for presenting what appeared to be immoral clothing; celebrities wearing designer gear were ridiculed, and photographs of female celebrities were patched with garments covering the entire body, calling it the proper way to dress. According to Pakistani designers quoted in The Guardian, the sector has become a battlefield between the lively young and religious right. Regardless, others in the profession, particularly women, view it as a way to move ahead and improve public perception.