How did your journey as a plus-size fashion designer in South Asia begin?
The thing that pushed me most was the fact that I always loved fashion as a child and ever since I was little, It was very difficult to find clothes that fit me. As I grew older and got into fashion more, it just became harder and harder. Shopping became a nightmare for me because it was one disappointment after the other. The way I was treated by sales people when I asked for a bigger size, they would always snicker or laugh and they would always just look at me and tell me “oh we don’t have your size.”
I never saw someone who looked like me on billboards or TV ads or just anywhere represented in the fashion industry. That’s when I decided I -because I did not have that representation- instead of waiting for someone to come around and give me that representation that I deserved and to have clothes that fit me, I just started making my own clothes and that set forward the idea in my head of doing this for more people as well because I started talking to a lot of people and a lot of friends and so many people felt the same way. And it was just…just such a big gap for people in the industry that looked like me.
Are there specific cultural or regional influences that you incorporate into your plus-size fashion designs?
A big part of the influences that I have within my designs and within what I wear is just a mixture of both Western and Desi elements because a lot of the times when you see fat representation in the fashion industry, its often from the west. Its still very rare to see brown people, brown girls in shalwar kameez, in saaris and lehngas who are fat and to find clothes, desi clothes that fit fat people. So a lot of the times, my inspiration is just either leaning towards desi clothing or desi elements or combining desi elements, especially cultural, ethnic, indigenous craft such as block printing or patchwork with Western elements so its a little bit more modern.
What are the unique challenges and opportunities you’ve encountered while designing for the South Asian plus-size market?
I think the biggest challenge that I have faced, both as a designer and as someone who consumes South Asian fashion as a plus size person is obviously the lack of opportunity. Very few brands are willing to include plus size people in their campaigns and a lot of the times when they do, its very performative. The fact that a lot of the times brands do not carry- stores don’t want to carry sizes because according to them its not profitable, that’s something I feel like is one of my biggest challenges, definitely.
Could you share your vision for the evolution of plus-size fashion in South Asia and how you hope to contribute to that vision?
When I talk about my vision, regarding plus size fashion in South Asia, I think I would like to see a future where fashion becomes accessible to every kind of body type and fashion, instead of being a status of class and money or a status of beauty that is very Eurocentric and becomes a form of expression that is available to everyone regardless of their size and their gender. When you talk about how that would translate into actual, material change, I would like to see small things to start with: brands carrying bigger sizes. I want fat people like me to not feel ashamed or scared when they go shopping because they know that its going to be impossible for them to find anything that fits them. I would like to see more people that look like me in television, adverts, in fashion catalogues, on runways and I would just like to see a general acceptance towards South Asian features and body types instead of focusing on archaic beauty standard that’s been ongoing in the industry for decades now.
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What advice would you give to other aspiring plus-size fashion designers in South Asia who want to make a difference in this industry?
As someone who is also starting out in my journey as a fashion designer, I think the biggest advice I would have is to stay true to what you believe in despite all the hurdles that come your way. A lot of times its very difficult to get people in Pakistani society to accept the fact that fat people deserve to have their own space, that fat people deserve to have clothing that fits them, clothing that makes them feel beautiful and just try to carve that space within the existing fashion industry because this practice has been going on for decades and obviously it will take a lot of work to disrupt something that’s been a certain way for years.
I would say carving your own space as a plus size fashion designer or anyone who’s trying to do something different is going to be very difficult, especially in the Pakistani fashion industry. Its been a certain way for decades and it is very difficult to change traditions and its systemic rigidity that is a refusal to sort of evolve. But if you work hard and stick to what you believe in and keep pushing for what you want, I think we can make change happen.
