In conversation with the LSAs' hat-trick queens

Should Sana Safinaz have won all those LSAs?

It’s a question that spread like wildfire immediately following the 14th Lux Style Awards (LSAs). The powerhouse designer duo swept the fashion categories by winning three of the most coveted accolades: Achievement in Pret, Luxury-pret and Lawn.

After 25 years since they first started out, Sana Hashwani and Safinaz Muneer have stood out as trend-setters, setting benchmarks and defining sartorial preferences for the savvy Pakistani woman.

Their brand has even served as an illustrious launchpad for the people who have worked for them. Models, photographers, designers, et al have benefitted from the hype, hoopla and quality associated with Sana Safinaz, going on to carve prolific careers of their own. Game changers in the realms of lawn, innovators in bridal design and more recently, waltzing the transition from high-end designer wear to affordable prêt, there is no denying their designing prowess.

 And yet, an LSA hat-trick like theirs was bound to awaken wounded egos and bring forth a spate of vindictive naysayers. The inevitable diatribes followed: the LSAs can’t be trusted, the LSA fashion jury is clueless and cribs about fashion’s supposed Karachi-Lahore bias. But the fact that the LSA results incite such arguments is also indicative of the awards’ strength.

“We belong to a generation where we aren’t constantly blowing our trumpets. In this age when everything is blown out of proportion on social media, I think people find it too easy to criticise.”

I meet the two designers a few days following the awards ceremony. Their office space throngs with bridal-wear clients, drifting through the embellished finery displayed on myriad racks — apparently the PFDC L’Oreal Paris Bridal Week (PLBW) collection showcased last month has been a hit.

Mornings are busy, catering to bridal-wear clients, followed by afternoons and evenings spent with their design team for prêt and luxury-pret. Simultaneously, plans are underway for launching this year’s edition of unstitched muslin. Lesser known is their interiors business, furnishing some of the grandest homes in the country with characteristic glamour.

A motley crew of awards — among others, a whopping eight LSAs and a golden statuette from the Masala! Awards — hold centre-court at the entrance; a reminder of their victories, past and present.

“Did we deserve to win all three awards? Of course, we did!” exclaims Sana. “We were also nominated in the Best Fashion Design (Bridal) category and we would have loved to win in that too. Every nominee believes that he or she deserves to win. So do we.”

Through a career replete with milestones and awards, Sana and Safinaz have never been ones to gloat. Their work, quite vociferously, has always spoken for itself.

Lawn royalty

“I remember how 18 years ago, we reinvented lawn completely,” recalls Sana. “Back then, Al-Karam was creating three-piece suits in bold multi-colours and when they took us on board, we insisted on incorporating pastels into lawn. They were skeptical until they saw how well the designs sold. We have always believed in re-thinking trends and doing things differently. All other brands have just followed suit.”

Over time, though, many of these ‘other brands’ have been boasting sold-out lawn sales. Most significantly, Khadijah Shah’s Elan has risen to be one of the strongest contenders in the market and was nominated alongside Sana Safinaz in this year’s ‘Best lawn’ category at the LSAs.

Beyond fanfare, it’s the numbers that matter, according to Safinaz, the design force behind the brand’s unstitched lawn. “It is easy for brands to get sold out because almost all of them manufacture limited numbers,” she observes.

“We have been in the business for a lot longer and have now progressed to creating lawn in hundreds of thousands. Our biggest hit lawns are worn by women in Tando Muhammad Khan as well as those living in India, London and the Middle East. Despite being manufactured in considerable quantities, some of our designs end up running short — but in the real sense of the word.”

“From chikankari to the crushed dupatta to shell embellishments and kantha embroideries, our lawn runs the gambit from casuals for the daytime to formal evening-wear,” she continues. “No other lawn brand can give so much value for money, so much variety and innovate yearly with new elements.”

Tricky prêt waters

Although they are indisputable lawn hot-sellers, do Sana and Safinaz feel that they have lost out in their market for luxury-pret and bridals by stepping into retail; trying to be a Zara when they were, per se, a Chanel?

“Anybody who visits our studio can attest to the crowds of bridal-wear clients that we meet every day,” says Sana. “Similarly, our luxury-pret is very popular, often seen on red carpets and at society soirees. The market dynamics have changed and there are many more design options now. That doesn’t mean that our business isn’t still going strong. We just belong to a generation where we aren’t constantly blowing our trumpets. In this age when everything is blown out of proportion on social media, I think people find it too easy to criticise.”

“We are probably the only brand in Pakistan that is able to translate its aesthetics to the very affordable as well as to the very expensive,” observes Safinaz. “It’s a very successful, one-of-a-kind multi-tiered business.”

Still, while they were ruling the roost with their high-end luxe, they quite ostensibly chose to follow the path hitherto paved by ready-to-wear heavyweight Khaadi. Has it been profitable? “We have expanded to 15 stores within two-and-a-half years and we wouldn’t have done it if our prêt hadn’t been selling well,” says Sana.

“In order to sustain our retail brand, we are constantly reading trends, reinventing and have young designers onboard like Mohsin Ali, who are able to visualise what the young girl wants to wear. Sana, Ather Hafeez and I, as design directors, design as well as approve everything that eventually winds its way to the stores.”

Did they deserve to win all three awards? Of course, they did! “Every nominee believes that he or she deserves to win. So do we,” say Sana Hashwani and Safinaz Muneer

 “We have a long way to go and we do admire Khaadi’s hold over the market and the way Shamoon Sultan has cemented his business,” she continues. “Our retail stores are targeted towards a similar customer but the aesthetics are uniquely our own.”

What stands out at Sana Safinaz’s stores are the slight tweaks and finishings; quintessential interplays of print with embroidery; semblances of hit ramp collections translated to retail and sophisticated evening-wear.

At the same time, there are also some designs that are far too ‘influenced’ by international runways.  “High-street, the world over, translates hot-off-the-catwalk trends to affordable retail,” explains Sana. “In our stores, I want to make a high-end design available at lower prices to the college girl who wants to make a statement.”

“Having said this, I am willing to contest anyone who considers our bridals and luxury-pret to be imitations of someone else’s work,” declares Safinaz. “When we design, we want to emulate our own ethos rather than rip off someone else’s. It’s what made the luxury-pret we showcased at fashion weeks last year so successful and I think that’s what won us the ‘Achievement in Luxury-pret’ award. We have also exemplified how high-end signatures can be decoded down to the high-street. This makes our prêt stand out.”

LSA aftermath

What then, of the critics who say that Sana Safinaz should not have won quite so many accolades, hinting at how ‘certain’ other nominees were more deserving? “It is an honour to even be nominated. Last year, we were nominated but didn’t win at all,” points out Safinaz. “This year, we have and next year, others may have their chance. It is petty to complain about the results.”

“There were so many years when we were nominated but never won,” adds Sana. “In the early years, they once announced that the award was for two designers instead of one. We thought they meant us and got up to receive the award, only to find out that it was being given to Bunto Kazmi and Faiza Samee. We just laughed about it and went home. We didn’t launch into tirades or talk about bias.”

Even prior to the LSAs, the duo experienced some critique for their PLBW France Lesage line. Presenting a swanky, svelte take on trousseau in a realm where swathes of heavy embroidery dominate, it wasn’t everyone’s favourite. “The whole point of a fashion week is to push boundaries but hardly any collections at PLBW had anything new to offer,” explains Sana.

“Our bridal-line presented the peplum shirt, paired intricately embellished lowers with lighter tops, accentuated the waistline and introduced flowing Grecian lines. This is how we foresee wedding formals in the future; delicate rather than in-your-face. Sometimes it takes people time to accept innovation.”

In the meantime, Sana and Safinaz continue doing what they do. Sooner or later, the trends set by them end up becoming rages within the nation, and beyond. History testifies to it.

Should they have won all those LSAs? Why shouldn’t they? That’s the real question.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine October 18th , 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play