The New Haute Season by Team Fahad Hussayn

The New Haute Season 🔥 official editorial for our critically acclaimed collection for ss2021 saobanjara  

Featuring summers hottest fashion with fierce avantgarde fahad hussayn signature. Featuring our impeccable craftsmanship and decadent visuals. Happy viewing!!

LOOK 1: The Tribal Wench

Featuring powder yellow handcrafted constructed floor length jacket and shorts with the fierce avantgarde tribal look. Keeping the native roots of Kutch as a prime inspiration for this particular look we put together a new age tribal vagabond ready to conquer the jungle.

LOOK 2 : The Fierce Discotheque

Featuring powder pink ensemble enriched with intricate floral embroideries and handcrafted embellishments. The look carry’s all the drama in the draped sleeve. The kind of fashion that is not for the faint hearted. it’s nothing less than Quintessential Fahad Hussayn.

LOOK 3 : Where The Wild Things Are

Set in a magnanimous setting of a multicolor floral bunch intricately hand embellished on a draped tulle dress, with thick chording and silk thread embroidery. the draped leg o mutton sleeve with hand embroidered buttons is all the rage in this design, plunging from the dreamscape of this photograph this outfit is ready to rock from a fancy cocktail evening to a red carpet.

LOOK 4 : Wonder Women

Featuring the hottest selling custom fabric this season “the revival edition” in a layer after layer in hottest shades from the season. Paired with a black velvet constructed corset and shorts. The kind of extra and extravaganza every dramatic situation demands.

LOOK 5 : Rare Royalty

The new love! Featuring marigold silk handcrafted dress with a complex French color palette etched with beautiful embroideries and handcrafted zardozi and silk thread work. The outfit originally designed to be a bridal is used with a plain silk corset and styled to fit the old-world charm it resonates, from a royal archive to a dream wedding dress with a backdrop of palatial kitsch this can take you places.

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Photography : NADIR FEROZ KHAN 

Featuring : GITI ARA 

Stylist :  FAHAD HUSSAYN 

Assistant stylist : SHAAM LATIPH 

Makeup and Hair : QASIM LIAQUAT 

Art direction : KAMIL SHEIKH at SLAYTOR ART 

Production : gsproductions.pk 

Jewels : AYESHA Accessories

Eid & The Festive Tablescape | The Magic of BABULAA's Food

Pakistani cuisine is truly a heirloom gastronomic art based on a unique assortment of different aromatic flavors and spices. While it has incorporated Middle-Eastern, Central Asian and Western Asian influences over the course of history, it still has been able to maintain its originality. With a diverse range of dishes ranging from the ever-famous Nihari, Pulao, Haleem & Chicken Karachi to Sajji and Chapli Kabab, Pakistani cuisine is some of the most extensive in the world. And we Pakistanis need an excuse to enjoy food. Everything we do is associated with eating be it a housewarming party, a desi wedding or just a simple get-together. 

And this is the spirit that Hussayn has tried to capture in his latest fashion film ‘BABULAA’ featuring the ever-radiant Noor Zafar as Maharang who returns from overseas, connects to her roots and enjoys a traditional feast with her family. To make the ultimate festive tablescape, Hussayn partnered with Sultan’s Kitchen which has been providing constant support to the Fahad Hussayn label ever since its conception. From providing extravagant dishes as props for the shoot to making home-made food in bulk for the crew, Sultan’s Kitchen has both been a great set design and a generous catering partner. 

BABULAA showcases the Wazir family hosting a lavish Eid dinner to depict the season of goodwill, as a celebration of the moral and emotional fabric of a household. It shows how it is in the moral code of our society to sit down and dine with our family as a form of respect to our elders. Decorated in a sumptuously rich banquet of Biryani, Koftay, Shami Kebab, Steam Roast, Sheer Korma and the heavenly Kheer, the Wazir family is shown enjoying the traditional Eid feast. It shows how the women of the household actually take pride in making these rich delicacies and delectable desserts. Because making such elaborate dishes is not just a work of art but also a way to rekindle tradition.

Take for example the quintessential Biryani - the name of that aromatic magical creation without which life would have been flavorless. Made usually with basmati rice, flavored with fragrant spices such as saffron and layered with mutton or chicken along with a thick gravy - this dish has been the centerpiece of South Asian cuisine since the Mughal era. South Asian folklore traces the origins of Biryani to Mumtaz Mahal, the Mughal emperor’s Shah Jahan's queen, who first made this dish for the soldiers of the state’s army. But whatever is the case, this dish has been the bedrock of any family reunion. Biryani is in more ways than one a celebratory dish i.e. it is cooked at a time of celebration, and when it is cooked it is time to celebrate. 

Then there’s the traditional delicacy Kheer - a mouth-watering South Asian dessert made of rice pudding without which any Pakistani dinner or luncheon is incomplete. It’s also an excuse for us Pakistanis to stay at the dinner table longer. Kheer actually happens to be a very old desert with the very first bowl of this popular South Asian dessert made from rice, ghee, milk, and sugar, which had a very thick and creamy texture. But later the dish became synonymous with rice pudding as it became more popular in the subcontinent. Before this, the Persians had their own version of this dish, known as Sheer Biring, served cold with honey or jam. The Afghanis also came up with a similar dish known as Shohla-e-Zard served with all sorts of dry fruits. But regardless of these cultural influences, South Asian Kheer is an original blend of saffron, rice, milk and sugar - a formula that has endured for over two thousand years.

Thus maintaining such an important part of our heritage intact in BABULAA was a huge responsibility and Hussayn knew what he had to do. The get-together of the Wazir family was also a nostalgic reminder for the utopian days of yore when extended families used to sit together, eat and talk about random things for hours and hours, just for enjoying each other’s company. BABULAA’s use of the festive tablescape was thus a way to evoke those emotions and relive that tradition. It was a way to depict the concept of love threaded deep into the fabric of our society, so much so that mealtime is almost treated as a sacred occasion in our culture. Eating together is in essence a way to de-stress, a chance to come close to each other and a testament to the ties that bind us. And Sultan’s Kitchen was instrumental in creating that ultimate nostalgic atmosphere.

The Reconstruction of Heritage by Fahad Hussayn

Our nation is endowed with a large number of ancient sites and historic structures, making up for its diverse and rich cultural heritage, that in turn is a source of our identity and a valuable source of community empowerment. This is why Hussayn believes in the concept of reconstruction of heritage, not just its preservation. In his own words, his latest Eid Lawn Collection ‘SHAJ’RAHH’ and its accompanying fashion film ‘BABULAA’ is an effort to ‘reconstruct’ heritage not just to ‘preserve’ it, i.e. it’s an effort to relive the glorified days of the treasured past. It’s a tribute to local craftsmanship and a celebration of the soulful artistry of South Asian craftsmen. Hussayn takes pride in the fact that his collection, along with the props and jewellery used in his fashion film, are all made in Pakistan and thus true to its native spirit. He wants to promote everything Pakistani through his work.

For this purpose, Hussayn has partnered with companies like Jawa Paints under his eponymous label, in two of his major projects i.e SAO BANJARA and SHAJ’RAHH, in order to restore two revered buildings of great historical importance - Wazir Khan Baradari and Shalimar House. 

Wazir Khan Baradari is an old Mughal building right next to the Punjab Library located on Mall Road where Hussayn’s record-breaking campaign Sao Banjara came alive amidst a theatrical performance. Jawa Paints was responsible for painting the entire building and its facade, along with finishing and decorating the huge floor length curtains, to match the complementing royal furniture and create an exquisite Mughal architectural look. Similarly for the campaign Shaj’Rahh, the Shalimar House next to Shalimar Gardens was refurbished completely and an old, empty heritage house was turned into a grand heirloom mansion with a post-colonial architecture juxtaposed against colonial influences, to depict the artistic influences over the course of time. Both of these artistic renderings were a tribute paid by Hussayn to the glory of our heritage.

His films are thus a lesson in history as much as they are a source of entertainment. His record-breaking fashion film ‘Mera Jora’ that has crossed over 1.5 million views in 2 months, talks about the history of the glamorous South Asian bridal dress and how wearing it is a bestowal of honor and grace for a woman. It is a treasure chest of emotions, traditions and cultural values that the bride inherits from her family.

A view of the place before Jawa Paints reconstructed it.

So Hussayn’s effort to create that old world experience either through his designs or through his shoots, is a way to make our lost heritage come back to life and thrive amidst modernity. All of his work is inspired by his deep desire to promote the brand of Pakistan itself and making sure that we stand tall and pride of what makes us Pakistani.

Creating the Look | The Anatomy of Fahad Hussayn's Signature Eid Lawn Shoot

Creating the right visual imagery for your brand is necessary to evoke the right emotional reaction which in turn helps your audience connect to your brand’s philosophy. And this is why Fahad Hussayn has always paid special importance to art direction in all his shoots. For the purpose of his label’s Signature Eid Lawn SS ‘21 shoot, he partnered with Articulate Studios to recreate history, literally. Whether it was creating a picture-perfect tablescape, a heirloom mansion, an old world luxury bedroom or a nostalgic epochal garden, the team behind Articulate Studios made sure that everything feels real yet magical.

Eesha, the owner of Articulate Studios says ‘Successful art direction is not the interplay of random aesthetics but is the result of a vision that brings everything together. I started off with sketches and 3D drawings to create the foundation of the set and then used some vintage artifacts as props to create the actual set. I used props such as furniture, draperies and various decoration items to complete the set. Art direction for me is a collaborative art form where individuals from all backgrounds join hands to create the ideal atmosphere’. 

Because the theme of this shoot was to depict a traditional setting, choosing the right location was key. And Shalimar House was chosen for the sole purpose of providing that feel of a grandiose mansion inhabited by an aristocratic family - The Wazir family as depicted in the shoot’s accompanying fashion film ‘BABULAA’. Placed in a beautiful colonial setting juxtaposed against post-colonial architecture, the setting depicts the fact that times may change, but traditions stay the same and need to be passed onto future generations, because traditions are what make a household.

But one of the most interesting challenges was to create the look of a traditional festive banquet. From the placement of the finest china and silver, to the use of vintage candle-stands, Articulate Studios made sure that the tablescape aesthetics stay true to the times and there are no anachronistic errors. 

This is why Hussayn likes delving into the minutest of details on his sets because he feels that creating the right aesthetics is key to making sure that your brand stays relevant and memorable for the public.