Lawn Industry: A Way Forward

Is the life of a woman in Pakistan just restricted to looking fashionable and pretty? Or is there more to it? Over the last couple of years we have seen a revolution in how women dress themselves and an inevitable hysteria among women regarding clothing brands. Every month we get to know about the launch of some new clothing brand and then further on, the launch of clothes for different seasons in Pakistan. The fact that Pakistan experiences four seasons, namely Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter has given clothing brands an advantage of launching seasonal collection four to five times a year, Eid collections being an addition to this. Summer collection is always treated as the “MOST WANTED” by the customers and many a times women become impatient when it comes to buying the best “branded” dress for themselves. Also, buying branded clothes with an intention to look better than your aunt’s daughter or with the intention of comparing yourself with the model you saw in a clothing brand’s Ad does not look wise. There has to be a meaningful and a positive approach to why we wear what we wear.

Now there are two campaigns which have been successful in giving meaning to why we wear what we wear. And unlike all the previous clothing brand campaigns their creative idea is unique and more meaningful. Let’s first look at Nishat’s campaign, NL-YOU and how it has associated itself with young female generation of Pakistan. What fascinates me about this campaign is how they have empowered women to feel confident and beautiful in their own skin. Also, the fact that they have taken girls who are not recognized models but are girls who come from different professions like for instance, there is a motorbike enthusiast, who has explored Northern Pakistan on her bike (Zenith Irfan), an illustrator from Peshawar (Saheefa Jabbar Khattak), a head-scarf designer (Mahoor Jamal), virtual artists (Alina Tauseef and Samiha Khan) and so many other girls, who may not be fashion icons but are role models for many young girls in Pakistan.

I believe that we can relate ourselves better with such role models for they are not models obsessed with a perfect body shape or contoured skin, rather girls who have dreams of travelling the world or opting a career which reveals their various skills and capabilities. Another thing that I truly appreciate about this campaign is how women belonging to different social backgrounds have been shown, for instance you see a girl wearing Hijab and then a girl wearing a sleeveless top. This shows that every girl should be given the choice to wear what she is most comfortable wearing and a dress which brings out the best in her. This is indeed a step towards accepting diversity.

Moving on to the second most liked campaign that has addressed the stereotypical imaging of Pakistani women, is that by Gul Ahmad, MeinPerfectHoon. In a very subtle way they have empowered women to feel confident about their so called imperfections, emerging mainly in the form of dark skin tone, crooked nose, and short height etcetera. This campaign is an initiative to change the mindset of people who shatter a woman’s confidence on the basis of unrealistic and self-created beauty standards. Another insight into this campaign is that women should be accepted and respected for who they are and they should be encouraged to follow their dreams and passions rather than restricting their mindset to something as ordinary as looks and beauty. This campaign is a step towards making women realize that beauty is not in the face, rather beauty is a light in the heart!

To conclude, both these campaigns have a powerful message to give and I appreciate their step towards giving women more than just clothes; that is to feel confident and beautiful in their own skin. Also, young Pakistani women, especially millennials are driven by career goals, education and values and so the need is to impress them by showing something meaningful and constructive, one which they can relate to.