Shehla Chatoor is collaborating with Sophia Webster for her solo show next week

Shehla Chatoor rolls out the red carpet for her solo show on March 18 and while you may or may not be a fan of elaborate bridals, you know that this one’s going to be grand.

The designer's brand has always been associated with sophisticated luxury and Shehla's dedication towards handcrafted design. She’s also always had a penchant for intricate details and statements – we can pretty much predict that her first ever solo show is going to be high on drama.

It may also be a show that sets precedents in local circles, hopefully for the fashion, but also because it features the designer’s collaboration with acclaimed international brand Sophia Webster. The clothes and clutches will be Shehla Chatoor designs while the shoes will all be Sophia Webster, shipped especially to Pakistan for the show.

This is definitely a first for a Pakistani designer. There is no shortage of designing talent in Pakistan but, burdened by our perpetually volatile political climate, it often gets overlooked by the international world. For a brand as prestigious as Sophia Webster to take an interest in a Pakistani show indicates that there is so much more that local designers can achieve. Sidestepping political and economic barriers, they can simply reach out to the world via social media and show everyone how good they are – for this is precisely what Shehla Chatoor did.

"If my brides are about to go abroad for their shoe purchases, I have often recommended Sophia Webster. It’s uncanny that now that very brand is going to be featured on the catwalk with all my designs.”

“I had been communicating with the brand for some time now,” explains Shehla. “I had been designing my collection ‘Tresor’ which featured a lot of florals and butterflies and I just shared the images with them, simply because I felt that they went so well with the Sophia Webster aesthetic. They responded and said that they really liked my work.”

“Nothing really happened at the time but then I began working on my upcoming collection ‘Nur e Alaleh’ and I sent them images of some of my inspirations. They were interested and we started considering a collaboration via a lookbook that they sent to me. At the time, they were putting up installations at London Fashion Week but right afterwards they sent the shoes on to me. They just go very well with my design sensibility and I feel proud that Sophia Webster’s first-ever collaboration with South East Asia is going to be at my show.”

Apparently, the brand is not paying – or being paid by – Shehla to participate in the show. In fact, all communication thus far has been directly via e-mail, without an agent playing middleman.

“It’s a very big international brand and I am sure they must have done their research before they decided to put their faith in me,” says Shehla. “They must also realise that there is a customer base in Pakistan that can afford to wear bespoke luxury clothes and make a trip to Dubai to buy shoes that go with it.

"There have been so many times when girls wearing my bridal designs ask me what shoes they should buy to go with the clothes. If they are about to go abroad for their purchases, I have often recommended Sophia Webster. It’s uncanny that now that very brand is going to be featured on the catwalk with all my designs.”

It’s also a small step – but an important one – outlining how, with vision and talent, local designers can make a mark not just in Pakistan but also in the international world. Why squabble over local fashion week lineups when you can set your eyes towards London, Paris or Milan? Why take part in small-scale international shows when you can attempt a collaboration with a global heavyweight? Why not dream big – and work consciously towards making it come true?