Thirty years is a very long time to remain at the top of one’s game. It takes a whole lot of effort, strategic planning and careful observation, keen insight and the ability to plan ahead and identify your niche market and recognise your customer-base.

But at the end of the day, you reach a point in time when you kick off your working boots and pass on the baton into more capable hands, and hopefully to a much better version of yourself, and supervise remotely — as is the case with the House of Amir Adnan that just gained a new CEO with Parishae Adnan.

Amir Adnan, an IBA business graduate, started his journey as a designer during the late 1980s, while still working as a banker. He initially started off by designing ties for friends and colleagues working in the corporate sector, and soon switched over to mainstream fashion. Huma Adnan, his wife, could also fully relate to her husband’s penchant for men’s fashion and started her own brand of clothing, FnkAsia, working with rural women, and now Craft Stories by Huma Adnan.

Over the years and decades, the duo has managed to lay the foundation of a sound fashion empire, The House of Amir Adnan. It is this rich legacy steeped in fashion history that their daughter Parishae Adnan has inherited, even as they expand the brand’s outreach by making inroads into North America and Canada, according to Amir Adnan.

Even as she takes the reins of her father’s formidable fashion empire as the new CEO of The House of Amir Adnan, Parishae Adnan showed with Nakhlistan that she is not afraid to boldly step out of his shadow and create her own identity

Mind you, the young Parishae Adnan is no real fledgeling when it comes to fashion. A graduate of the London School of Economics (LSE), she has been serving in various capacities in her parents’ business before branching out with her own line of clothing and creative vision.

Her show held at the beach with plus-sized models and one with transmodels last year at Area 51, the TDAP (Trade Development Authority of Pakistan) show and Hum TV’s Bridal Couture Week in December, followed by Bank Alfalah’s AlfaMall show at the Mohatta Palace and the Winter Fashion Gala at the Alliance Francaise de Karachi earlier this year are the ones that immediately spring to mind when one thinks of her work.

In these exhibitions, she showed variations from her creative fashion vision, from goth to more commercially viable and fashion-forward ensembles. Now, after taking over as the CEO of the House of Amir Adnan, it was reason enough for her to exhibit again — at the Area 51 venue once more — in a show titled Nakhlistan [Oasis].

But before launching into the details of the show, let’s reflect on the example of some fashion houses that have much younger company heads, and which have gained immensly from their vision, energy and dynamism.

In the international arena, we have the iconic shoe designer Jimmy Choo, who was recently on a visit to Lahore with his niece Lucy Choi, the Company Director of the Jimmy Choo Academy. Closer to home, Farah Talib Aziz and her daughter Maliha Aziz jointly run the popular bridal atelier.

Over the years and decades, the duo has managed to lay the foundation of a sound fashion empire, The House of Amir Adnan. It is this rich legacy steeped in fashion history that their daughter Parishae Adnan has inherited, even as they expand the brand’s outreach by making inroads into North America and Canada, according to Amir Adnan

Back to the show at Area 51, the Summer 2025 collection Nakhlistan was a hit with most and a near-miss with some others but, most importantly, it documented Parishae’s evolution as a serious stylista taking over her father’s fashion empire. You could see reflections of the stylish-cut sherwanis, jackets, prince coats and shalwar suits that made Amir Adnan a formidable name in local fashion. But Parishae stamped her own identity on them with a highly diverse line of ensembles that spelt fusion all the way through.

The experimental cuts and silhouettes were a far cry from the tradition the House of Amir Adnan is known for, but therein lies the beauty of diversification, as a young designer takes over the helm of affairs. It was her calling card, her stamp of approval and her vision for the future of her father’s clothing brand.

One spotted signature digital print borders on silken shawls with Nakhlistan imagery, innovations in traditional lowers for both men and women, a redefined silhouette that accentuated the body shape in muted tones, pastels keeping in line with the desert oasis theme, and deep blacks signifying the casting of shadows across the desertscape. The element of embellishment was stronger and bolder and the motifs more visually striking, which would cater to a much younger clientele.

The fashion fungama was all played out with a formidable force of 53 male and female models by talent partner Zinc, with fashion and casting director Tabesh Khoja curating the show, a daunting undertaking never before attempted by any singular designer in recent memory. The main show area was transformed into a dream fantasy terrain, with huge pools of water and rock-like formations brought to life thanks to dramatic lighting by Ayesha Noor Kurd. The show was choreographed and directed by the theatre visionary Nida Butt, with the models weaving their way through the dramatic set on the meandering runway.

Notables from the fashion and entertainment industry came out to express their support, among them being actors Ahad Raza Mir, Ahsan Khan and Azfar Rehman, director Saqib Malik, choreographer Imran Kureishi and many others.

Like the shifting of the desert sands, the end of one era and the beginning of another brings with it a melancholic brew of both sadness and joy. Sadness for an era in fashion that has now come to pass, and joy in witnessing the birth of a new one.

Much like a fledgeling taking off on the wings of previous experiences and past successes while creating new stories of its own.

The writer is a member of staff.

He can be reached at quraishi.faisal@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, ICON, May 25th, 2025