Dawn Images

The first thing you'll notice about the teasers to Feeha Jamshed’s upcoming debut lawn line for Flitz is actress Mahira Khan.

The country’s sweetheart, with an upcoming Bollywood venture alongside Shahrukh Khan adding to her appeal, Mahira looks gorgeous in three-piece glory.

But there’s more to Feeha’s lawn aside from Mahira’s star-power.

Here’s what we love

Amongst of milieu of mundane three-piece luxury suits aspiring to be ‘designer-made’, Feeha's lawn is one of the few contenders that actually does live up to expectations.

It’s Feeha’s very unique, often quirky, ethos simmered down yet still visible, translated to lawn’s mass-friendly realms. There are florals, wielded with an Origami-like tiled effect; the silhouettes of a troop of camels along a border and a silken dupatta which is utterly feminine and yet, look closely, and those are geometrical footballs bouncing along its length.

The embroideries, silk borders and dupattas merge very well together and Flitz has very obviously upped its ante with good quality fabric. Most significantly, Feeha’s design manages to stand out in a market that is currently clustered with typical lawn imagery.

The lawn market is competitive and increasingly fickle and there is no guarantee that Feeha will be a sold-out success. Doesn’t she think that she would have fared better had she debuted in March rather than in May?

“I did study the lawn market before creating my own collection, deciphering precisely what made the top designer lawns so popular,” explains Feeha. “And then, I went off and did something that none of them had done. I can never allow my designs to look like anyone else’s. That’s why I’ve called the collection ‘Florence of Arabia’. It is rare and different, like a flower blooming in the middle of the desert.”

Following the same principle, Feeha refused to incorporate the increasingly popular shalwar in her catalogue. “Everyone was featuring shalwars so I just didn’t want to. I do know that a lot of customers will probably have their lowers stitched as tulip shalwars since they are all the rage right now.”

In Feeha’s catalogue, though, there is a very trendy flared bell-bottom design in a jigsaw geometric print – trust Feeha Jamshed to think out of the box.

This is lawn that is in actuality designer-created, rather than simply claiming to do so – an absolute must-have from our perspective.

Feeha likes to do things differently, which is why you won't see the increasingly popular shalwar in her catalogue.

And yet, the lawn market is competitive and increasingly fickle and there is no guarantee that Feeha will be a sold-out success. Doesn’t she think that she would have fared better had she debuted in March rather than in May, when most aficionados have already splurged out their budgets on multiple suits?

“I don’t think there is any fixed season for lawn,” Feeha asserts. “It is a fabric that is purchased and worn all the year round and if people like it, they will buy it. We’ve already gotten so many enquiries from within Pakistan as well as abroad.”

The Mahira equation

Some credit for this can certainly go to the face of Feeha’s lawn, Mahira Khan.

As Feeha’s childhood best friend, Mahira’s equation with the designer tends to deliver all-out hits. One remembers her creating a stir with the Feeha Jamshed ‘Giraffe’ sari back in 2014 and more recently at this year’s HUM awards, the actress turned heads with a reversible ‘Bob Squad’ suit.

“I don’t just dress Mahira in generic designs that may not suit her persona,” explains Feeha. “With the reversible suit at the HUM Awards, I wanted her to move away from the usual sari and gown rut and make a sophisticated, trendsetting statement.”

The lawn, similarly, looks great. Shot in Dubai by Nadir Feroz of NFK Photography, the catalog drifts from souks to the desert to a boat-ride. “We all had massive crushes on the hairstylist for the shoot, Harlem Alexander from Norway,” laughs Mahira.

There were instances when the fashion shoot went through the usual hitches – a horse that was supposed to be photographed with Mahira turned out to be uncontrollable and the shot was eventually cancelled.

Feeha's campaign was shot in Dubai, and Mahira has some funny stories about the experience, like when a horse that was supposed to be photographed with Mahira turned out to be uncontrollable and the shot was eventually cancelled.

At another time, Mahira had to pose on a boat and instead of insisting on returning to the coast so that she could dress, she opted to change into her lawn suit in a tiny space allotted to the boat’s main machinery. “As actors we are accustomed to going to far-flung areas and getting ready in unconventional circumstances. I just thought going back to the coast would be an unnecessary hassle. Instead, they covered the doorway with umbrellas and I changed very quickly,” shrugs Mahira.

Does the actress, so well-versed with modeling lawn every year, like Feeha’s collection of prints?

“I love them! It drove Feeha up the wall that the photographs came out especially well for the designs that were my favorite. She kept ordering me to pose just as well in all of them,” laughs Mahira. “I've told her that I'm getting at least three of the designs.”

We’re getting some too. Feeha Jamshed’s gone off and created lawn the bona fide designer way and one needs to applaud her for it – let’s sees if it draws in the sales for her.