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I got the sherwani ready for Prince William within two days, says Nauman Arfeen

I got the sherwani ready for Prince William within two days, says Nauman Arfeen

"It is a hand-embroidered piece so we literally worked day and night," added the designer.
16 Oct, 2019

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are currently touring Pakistan and the excitement surrounding their trip is on a high.

A constant deluge of photographs keep flooding media as the royals continue on with their itinerary and while their visit to a government school and various historical and scenic locales is acknowledged, the focus has particularly been on what they have been wearing.

It was a moment of patriotic pride when Kate Middleton wore an outfit created by local designer Maheen Khan on the first day of her tour. The Duchess has also been making waves for the local high street by wearing accessories by Zeen Woman and a crushed dupatta by Bonanza Satrangi.

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And then, that very night, Prince William attended a reception hosted by the British High Commission in Islamabad in a bespoke sherwani by Pakistani brand Naushemian by Nauman Arfeen.

The sherwani was a patriotic Pakistani ‘green’ and followed the traditional nine-button silhouette. According to designer Nauman Arfeen, turquoise self-embossed jamawar fabric that is especially woven at his factory was used to construct the garment.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the evening reception hosted by British High Commissioner, Thomas Drew.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at the evening reception hosted by British High Commissioner, Thomas Drew.

The fabric was then hand-embroidered in a single tone. The front was completely embroidered and there were motifs on the back as well as the sleeves.

“I had the sherwani ready within two days of getting the order from the Prince’s representatives,” says Nauman.

But how did the British royals get to know of Naushemian, a brand which enjoys great business in Pakistan but hasn’t made much of an effort at international marketing.

Like Maheen Khan, Nauman also evidently stocks some of his designs at a London-based multi-label store called O’nitaa. Maheen’s designs for Kate Middleton were selected by the Duchess’ style team from this store. And in Nauman’s case the Duke himself pinpointed his design when he visited the store.

Also read: Maheen Khan reveals how she ended up dressing Kate Middleton for her Pakistan visit

“I got a call from O’nitaa and she asked me if I could quickly make the turquoise green sherwani for a special client who was there at the store at the time,” recalls Nauman.

“I asked her who the client was and she said that she would tell me later. I talked to her after a while and asked her to send me a picture of the sherwani that she had been referring to so that I had a clearer idea. She said that she couldn’t because the clothes were now in the palace. I was confused. ‘What palace?’ I asked,” he laughs.

The hand-embroidered sherwani was ready within two days of getting the order.
The hand-embroidered sherwani was ready within two days of getting the order.

“The Prince actually put on the sherwani and took a picture so that I could understand where he needed the fitting to be corrected. Apparently, he had really liked it. We immediately got to work once we had his measurements. It is a hand-embroidered piece so we literally worked day and night and got it ready in two days!”

The Duchess wore a gown by Jenny Packham that matched the Duke’s sherwani. And she paired a dupatta with the gown. The country at large was smitten. The morality brigade, so unfortunately obsessed with the dupatta, were particularly happy.

Will the Duke be wearing more clothes by Nauman? “I did make some other clothes for him but I don’t know whether he will be wearing them,” says the designer.

The headlines are out in the international press, though, that Prince William has become ‘the first British royal to don a sherwani’. And the generally low-profile, business-minded Nauman Arfeen has had the honor of creating that sherwani. We couldn’t be happier.

We hope that, as the royal tour continues, the Duke and Duchess are seen in more clothes by Pakistani designers. According to our sources, it’s very, very possible.

Comments

Rehmat Ali Oct 16, 2019 01:29pm
Invaders who invaded looted and ruled our subcontinent. Destroyed our historical culture and values Now their generations are given warm welcome showing we are still living in their supremacy.
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Babu Oct 16, 2019 02:37pm
If we appreciate Europeans wearing Asian dresses in Asia than why we question when Europeans want Asians to wear European dress in Europe ?
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Millake Oct 16, 2019 06:15pm
@Rehmat Ali... How long do you propose the antagonism and hatred should last?
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hanifsmile Oct 16, 2019 07:03pm
This is called Class.
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Zafar Oct 16, 2019 07:48pm
@Babu Because we are not forcing them to wear our traditional dresses...
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Nibli Oct 16, 2019 07:56pm
@Rehmat Ali Agreed
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manzer Oct 16, 2019 08:00pm
@Babu The prince wore it out of his own freewill, nobody asked him to wear it. Many of us wear Western dress out of our own freewill , the problem occurs when someone demands we do that to get assimilated in the society.
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Alih Oct 16, 2019 09:31pm
@Babu, He is here for few days, not like many South Asians living in UK for decades. So it makes sense to wear their dress now, as they say, In Rome do as Romans do.
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GraceAnne Oct 16, 2019 11:31pm
@Babu when our Canadian prime minister and his wife travelled to India and donned traditional Indian clothes they were excoriated by the media world wide. What’s the difference.? In this case it is being lauded. It all points to let people be. Our world is small and international influences are everywhere. This is 2019.
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Zak Oct 17, 2019 02:47am
These Royals will come back again after this trip.
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Zak Oct 17, 2019 02:49am
Excellent marketing internationally for our designers and their clothes
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Jigar Oct 17, 2019 10:31am
@Rehmat Ali The same can be said about Mughal rulers. These visitors are not responsible for the past and are excellent representatives of the royal family and are welcome guests.
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Zahid Oct 17, 2019 01:05pm
@Babu they don’t expect it, it’s the people from Asia that do it willingly. There’re countless people in the UK from Asia and particularly South Asia that still go around wearing their traditional dresses.
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Noman Akram Oct 18, 2019 09:41am
So nice
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