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Two to tango
The general notion is that Pakistan’s fashion industry is in its nascent stage. There is as yet no central regulatory body acceded to by all nor any recognizable semblance of a fashion week. However, when one stops to consider the number of couturiers who have been up and designing for a decade or more, one is forced to reassess the earlier observation. The flora of professional fashion designing in the country might still be in the process of germination, but some quick-sprouting seedlings have been in bloom for quite a while.
Nickie’s and Nina’s names can be etched alongside the likes of giants Nilofer Shahid and Faiza Samee on the roster of pioneers. The designer duo has been draping women with their vision of style for over the past 14 years. Today, they stand proud as their presence in local glossies and worldwide showings of bedecked confections testify to their knack for aesthetics and staying power.
Meeting the two is to get a crash course in grace and style. The family resemblance that is hinted at by the pretty features is more strongly suggested by the shared flair for dress and equally fine-phrased speech. It is obvious that when it comes to fashion, Nickie and Nina belong to the rare breed that sets trends. “It’s not just about what you put on, your personal style defines how fashionable you are,” says Nickie.
“Fashion is about how you carry yourself and how you wear what you wear. The demands of our profession are such that people expect us to be nicely dressed,” adds Nina. Incidentally, that also makes them the perfect ambassadors for their label.
There was a time when Nickie and Nina were just two ordinary sisters growing up in Lahore. But fashion, as they take pleasure in saying, has always been a big part of their lives. “Since childhood we have enjoyed designing clothes and getting dressed up,” say the close-knit pair. Their hobby for dressmaking led them to make clothes for each other and once their friends saw the great job they were doing, approached them to create designs for them as well. And so the Nickie and Nina brand name came to be, defined by hard work and aesthetics. Today, according to them, “The most important prerequisite for a designer, even more crucial than a degree, is a superior aesthetic sense, which no school can ever teach you.” It is an observation that has stood the test of numerous unqualified but high-quality designers.
A decade-and-a-half later, the mention of their brand conjures images of queenly bridal couture drenched with the embellishments that girls dream about for their special day. Nickie and Nina’s clothes are not swayed by the ephemeral pull of the colours of the moment or far-out cuts, nor do the sisters confound their clients by imposing overarching design philosophies. They understand that a bride-to-be is extremely particular about her dress, and so the style-making duet coddles them with their romantic odes to traditional wedding wear.
‘The most important prerequisite for a designer, even more crucial than a degree, is a superior aesthetic sense, which no school can ever teach you. It is an observation that has stood the test of numerous unqualified but high-quality designers,’ say Nickie and Nina
First and foremost among the ingredients that are so essential to their delicious fabric-and-thread feasts is a generous dollop of colour. Nickie and Nina delight in a profusion of radiant hues, from fuchsia to cyan, mixing colours with the brilliance of a Rococo old master. Then there are the fabrics: the designers have a tendency to combine different textures to imbue every garment with a richness and depth that is as personable as any outward decoration. Of the latter, there is a great deal. Their gilt-ridden clothes flaunt the eastern love affair with embroideries using various styles of wasli, karchob and zardozi with silk threads and precious and semi-precious stones. These are worked in ornate patterns often inspired by various elements in nature, such as the sea.
This might lead to the assumption that the design divas only cater bridal wear. While they admit they specialize in outfitting brides, their repertoire is, in fact, “far more diverse, including clothes for formal and semi-formal occasions. We have also dabbled in casual wear, which is, after all, what we started our careers with. We cater to all age groups. Every client is important to us, be it a teenager or a middle-aged woman.”
Nickie and Nina have staged exhibitions in New Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Glasgow and the United States. Furthermore, it has led them to think about expansion plans, specially to Karachi, after their outlet on M.M. Alam Road in Lahore. Recently, they also displayed their collection inspired by traditional Sindhi culture at the Presidency while the most luminous professional accolade has been the Lux Style Award nomination Nickie and Nina received in 2004. At the rate they are going, it seems a win is not far off.These days, the designers say they have no time for regrets as they are too busy in their off-work hours tending to the concerns of their sphere. “Strength lies in numbers so we all have to get united for the betterment of the fashion industry in Pakistan.” To that end, and starting off from their hometown, the duo played a major role in consolidating the Lahori couturier crowd for the formation of the Pakistan Fashion Council. No doubt, Nickie and Nina’s efforts abetted the Lahore chapter in surpassing its floundering Karachiite predecessor.
Both have a very positive outlook that casts a bright glow on their vision of the future of fashion. “The people in the fashion industry are working very hard, and there is definite progress,” says Nickie. Nina, continuing in her sister’s optimistic tone, adds, “We have the talent, and are now starting to groom it to bring it to its full potential.”
Indeed, it is hard to disagree with that.
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