Winter is over, spring is here and with it has come that time of year when clothes are on everyone’s mind. This time, it’s not lawn that has everyone talking — it’s actor Mahira Khan’s fashion label M By Mahira and its prices.
On Monday, Khan dropped the much-awaited but certainly sparser than anticipated collection — three white tunics, a pair of scalloped pants and one dupatta. Khan wrote on Instagram, “I want to say so much.. take you all through the long journey of this very small collection.. but for now what seems befitting is that I dedicate this to someone whom this belongs to.”
She thanked Mashion’s Maha Rizvi and recalled the time when three of them, including her brother Hassaan Khan, were sitting in a room discussing Mashion, the ideas and what they’d do and not do when they launched M By Mahira. The Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay star wanted her first collection to be either “just white kurtas or just saris”.
Well, her brand is just as she envisioned — all white. However, the price of those all-white garments is something people have a lot to say about. On its website, the brand introduced three kurtas — an embroidered piece for Rs12,800, a silk tunic set for Rs24,950 and an Irish linen mardana style kurta for Rs13,600. It had one scalloped pants for Rs6,200 that comes in two options, white or off-white embroidery on the scallops, and a tassel dupatta for Rs3,500.
Because of the price point, this Twitter user says M by Mahira better “wash, fold and iron itself”.
The M in M by Mahira stands for “mahenga [expensive]”, wrote someone else.
One person’s mother said she could make the same shalwar kameez in Rs500.
“Mahira I love you, but please don’t sell these plain white kurtas in 13k and 24k,” wrote another Twitter user.
The M in M by Mahira stands for “million per dress,” according to one person.
Some users found it “expensive” and “overpriced”.
Some compared it to the Tim Hortons queue in Lahore.
Twitter users aren’t the only ones with an issue — people were commenting under the M by Mahira Instagram post with similar complaints. Most complained that it is “too expensive” for a plain cotton kurta. One person commented that the brand’s “not for them”.
The five-item collection was made available for purchase on Monday, out of which only silk tunic set is still available. Everything else is now sold out. The brand says they believe in a “minimalist approach” as they focus on creating silhouettes that keep “the wearer at ease with everyday movement while simultaneously uplifting their personality”.
Khan owns Mashion, a social media platform, as well as her own production company called SoulFry Films with Nina Kashif.
Is Mahira Khan’s clothing brand too pricey? Twitter certainly thinks so