The name Rizwan Beyg evokes the image of the quintessential haute couturier; someone blessed with exquisite taste; possessed of a precise and palpable design ethos and an unappeasable desire to raise the bar of his own signature line, as well as the industry he has chosen to work in. What follows is a rare insight into the mind of the quixotically private yet outspoken designer, also one of the pioneers of the Pakistan fashion industry. Images got together with the deisgner for a chat. Following are the excerpts from the interview:
What has been your contribution to the Pakistani fashion industry?
I was the first person to bring about an awareness of haute couture. Faiza Samee and Bunto Kazmi were concentrating on bridals, and Maheen and Sehyr Saigol at Libas were more about pret (ready-to-wear). People like me and Shamaeel brought the idea of haute couture to fashion rather than producing 6,000 outfits in polyester or in Maheen’s case, silk. Our introducing haute couture and couture gave rise to a whole generation including Imrana Ahmed (of Body Focus Museum) and Sana Safinaz. We are absolute pioneers. We are the Balenciagas, Jean Patous and Saint Laurents of Pakistani fashion, fusing western concepts with an Eastern sensibility, combining machine work with dabka.
How much do you think your work and efforts have put Pakistan on the international fashion map?
I think a lot. If I think objectively, few people have gotten fashion recognized as a profession. I have definitely given more than I have taken back. I strongly believe in giving back. I was involved with the setting up of the curriculum at the Pakistan School of Fashion Design in Lahore and have been grading the theses of students from the Textile Department at Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture for several years. I am also giving back to the grassroots community by including their artisanship in the making of couture. I see myself as the fashion ambassador for Pakistan.
Internationally, the feather of my career definitely was dressing the late Lady Diana, Princess of Wales. I am trying to tap onto the French market and had worked for five years with Catherine who was associated with Lhsage, the legendary Parisian embroidery house. I have shown my collection twice at the Paris pret a porter (one of the times with Maheen Khan and Sonya Battla.) I have had enquiries from Bergdorf Goodman and have been involved with some museum renovation in Europe. I’ve accomplished a lot in the 17 years I have been involved in fashion. Even domestically I have taken more risks. I was the first designer to do lawn and one of the few designers involved in corsetry and the making of bustiers.
What were your impressions of the late Lady Diana?
The feather and crowning glory of my career was dressing her. She wore my feminine version of the male achkan to a Shaukhat Khanum benefit. She actually wore the ivory achkan twice and she was known not to repeat outfits. She was very discerning. Receiving validation from the ultimate fashion icon of the ‘90s was the greatest high. I stopped listening to what the critics had to say. It suddenly meant so little. Diana was very shy and there was a sadness about her. I know that had she been alive I would be designing more clothes for her.
As you have also dressed Princess Sarwat of Jordan and members of the Jordanian royal family, what is it like dressing royalty?
In all of the cases I was approached by them. The bottom line when designing for them is protocol. One has to be deferential, ultra-polite and when giving advice very careful not to offend. When I was to meet Lady Diana, I was told not to shake her hand unless she did. When dealing with royalty there is the aspect of security, bodyguards and rituals.
What is your favourite outfit or look on a woman?
It depends on her colouring, skin and shape. There are no rules. The ultimate distinction is style versus fashion. This has become my mantra: You can buy fashion but you can’t buy style. I have seen a woman in a simple chiffon sari upstage the classic fashion victim. Style is about individuality and projecting the best you have to offer. Fashion just helps. Fashion is not for the meek or timid. Style is innate. It can be acquired through travel. Acquiring style is about keeping your mind open and your mouth shut. Travel allows you to see different cultures, build your tolerance. It’s the only education that continues after school.
You’ve been designing for 17 years. Can you imagine a life without fashion, like your western peer Tom Ford who has taken a hiatus from fashion?
I’m very fortunate that I also have architecture. I am also dabbling into interiors as well as a cinema aficionado. I wrote a script for a stage version of Anarkali. I was exposed to classical music and dance by my family at a young age which helped to hone my artistic sensibility. If tomorrow I gave up fashion, my life would still be full of equally fascinating activities and pursuits. Not to say that I would ever give up fashion.
Do you think your friendship with Nabila, who publicly made disparaging comments about your production of Anarkali can ever be rekindled?
I don’t think my comments are necessary. I think what you say is what you are. If she (Nabila) is a flamboyant, one-liner shock queen than I am aloof and reticent. At the end of the day, like I said, who you are is what you say. She chose to say what she said. I chose to say nothing.
Name the five essentials in a well-dressed woman’s wardrobe?
In descending order of importance: a basic wardrobe; accessories; grooming and attitude On the top of the list, the most essential component for a truly stylish woman is her individuality.
You recently showed your Spring/Summer 2005 collection which seemed to be a celebratory ode to the ’80s. Was that your favourite decade in fashion?
Not really. I think the best in terms of fashion has been post-millennium because it has imbibed a bit of every decade. I liked the late ’50s and early ’60s which was the peak of high glamour vis a vis Hollywood and the emergence of fashion greats and revolutionaries like model Jean Shrimpton, high street designer Mary Quant and high fashion photographer Richard Avedon. That glamour also swung into Karachi and I remember as a child wondrously admiring women like ‘Nachi’ Osman Ali wearing beautiful kamdani saris and holding those glamorous cigarette holders.
Actually, the ’80s was the worst decade in fashion. It was about liberation and power dressing: big hair, shoulder pads. The shalwar kameez went hog-wild with dhoti and dholak variations. It was about Madonna’s high-low trashy glamour and new kitsch; the birth of the drag queen via RuPaul and Viva Glam. Fashion is a reflection of the times. It is the quickest and most immediate art form. I have always looked at fashion globally. It has become about the disintegration of barriers and designers using cross-cultural references and it’s very important to borrow from cultures. The sad part of this has been a tendency towards homogeneity. I don’t like the concept of a melting pot where all the cultural references are indistinctly mixed together. I prefer the concept of the salad bowl where each cultural component retains its individuality but shares the same dressing.
Which Pakistan fashion staple is the most fun to re-work?
The Pakistani fashion staple is the shalwar kameez and that is not going to change. The maximum that is changed is the detail. Every season the only thing which radically changes is the hemline. Most designers only deal with micro-fashion, catering to the elite. I think a designer is only truly successful when he or she can change how a nation dresses.
I’m not so hot about dressing a teenybopper in a little black dress. My approach to macro-fashion, reaching a wider clientele is through my lawns. Even Giorgio Armani is approaching the masses via Armani XChange. You’re not going to create a fashion revolution unless you deal with the middle class. I used to be a label but now I am a brand and that was planned strategically. My model would be Armani Jeans. I think the person who got it right, right in the beginning is Amir Adnan. He is truly a pioneer of couture quality brand growth.
Your work outside fashion?
I bid for museum space to exhibit first at Ajvida Palace in Lisbon and secondly at La Villa Kerylos on the Cote D’Azur’s Beaulieu Sur Mer. For the latter, I bid against famed embroidery house Lhsage and got the space. I’ve been involved in renovating two museums in Helsinki, Finland and held a six-month exhibit which looked at the use of traditional embroidery in contemporary fashion. And as I have mentioned before, I have also been the Board of Studies’ external examiner at Indus Valley’s Textile Department for the last six years, grading theses. I must give accolades to Shenaz Ismail who has been a dynamic head of that department.
What are some of your plans for the future?
I want to tackle macro-fashion by for example making unstitched suits accessible to the masses. I’m having talks about opening boutiques in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. I’m interested in launching Rizwan Beyg home furnishings and also attacking the value-added sector by concentrating on women’s wear. I am also exploring and developing markets in the Middle East, Kuwait and Bahrain. I’m hoping to open a store in Dubai with the help of my sister-in-law who lives there. My aspirations are to branch out.
Who do you admire in the Pakistani fashion industry? And which international designers do you like and why?
There are many designers who are great in their own way. Sana Safinaz make stunning clothes as does Omar Sayeed whose clothes are glamorous and very beautiful. Amir Adnan is a retailing pioneer and genius. In bridals, I like Nilofer Shahid and Bunto Kazmi. In contemporary wear I think Imrana Ahmed is very good. I admire Maheen Khan because of her unwavering dedication to form. She hasn’t sold out and put ornamentation ahead of form. Sonya Battla has been one of the milestones of Pakistani fashion. She has followed a single pursuit and produces very strong collections with each collection having something to say. She has also not sold out to ‘death by embroidery.’
Internationally, for sheer daring, I like John Galliano who is truly incredible and who blurs the line between costume and fashion. In terms of simplicity, I like Donna Karan and Calvin Klein. For his intellectual take on fashion, I admire Hussein Chalayan. For the ultimate in garment making it has to be Mr Armani and for sheer style and beautiful gowns I like Valentino and Dior. I am also a huge fan of Vivienne Westwood’s experimentation. However, I am not a fan of Alexander McQueen who I find bizarre. For his sheer prolific volume and superb quality, I admire Karl Lagerfeld and his different design responsibilities. I notice a lot about other designers’ work.
A fashion horror story?
There are so many tiny anecdotes and stories to tell, about models mucking up, etc. I don’t take things too seriously. I don’t agonize. At the end of the day I retain a tongue-in-cheek attitude. If I believed all the glowing press about myself I’d have a huge ego. I think I command respect because of my knowledge of fashion.
I’ve lived the life, a life of appreciating style and luxury. My boutique and atelier reflect it, my home reflects it. I’m not just chi chi in front of journalists and it’s not about a whole lot of brouhaha. I have a sense of sincerity to what I do. The greatest respect is that which I receive from my peers such as Maheen. My biggest problem is that I cannot tolerate fools.
Pakistan’s most stylish man and woman?
I don’t think Pakistani men have style. They have presence and may have a good dress sense. Hamid Karzai has style and he is a perfect reflection of his culture. An oatmeal Armani business suit is not style.
Where women are concerned, that’s a difficult question. But I would name Sara Lakhani and Tabinda Chinoy. She’s a very stylish woman. Nabila has style and so does Atiya Khan. From the old school, there is Aunty ‘Nachi’ Osman Ali.
Does Pakistan have a fashion council? Do you have the inclination to be part of any such organization?
I would abet, join hands with, and help anyone from the ridiculous to the sublime who wants to project fashion. At one time Maheen, Amir Adnan and me spoke about forming a council. Nilofer Shahid was going to form a council with her Lahore cohorts. Then there was talk of conjoining the two. There is an absolute need for a Pakistani Fashion Council. One person doesn’t make an industry. If ego becomes bigger than talent, this only leads to ineffectuality. The most unappealing words are “me” and “I.” Praise has to come from other people to have any real value.
The name Rizwan Beyg evokes the image of the quintessential haute couturier; someone blessed with exquisite taste; possessed of a precise and palpable design ethos and an unappeasable desire to raise the bar of his own signature line, as well as the industry he has chosen to work in. What follows is a rare insight into the mind of the quixotically private yet outspoken designer, also one of the pioneers of the Pakistan fashion industry. Images got together with the deisgner for a chat. Following are the excerpts from the interview:
