“I always feel so incredibly happy when I’m there. Disconnect from the world but you’re also in the world. When you’re in New York, you get the feeling you’re in the heartbeat of the world. When you’re in Paris, you feel like you’re in the perfect world. You feel relaxed,” says HSY as he reminisces on the electric energy he experienced on the streets of Paris. We recently had a talk with the adventurous and vivacious HSY who has risen to become one of Pakistan’s perennial couture designers. He recently attended Paris Fashion Week and came back inspired with ideas that he has gracefully shared with us. He found warmth and pride in every corner of the city. From recording the beauty of the city through his notebook to surreal moments of seeing Cindy Crawford and Gigi Hadid, the King shares it all below!
You have been designing and elevating your strengths as a designer for many years, and you’ve played an eminent role in shaping the fashion culture of Pakistan. How did it feel to be a strong representative of Pakistani fashion in Paris for Fashion Week?
It felt amazing. Moments like this put things in perspective. It’s the perspective I get when I travel. There’s a disconnect from Pakistan to the rest of the world. Pakistani designers feel they’re a big fish in a small pond and I’m seeing it happen more and more. Seeing a city like Paris is a humbling experience because you realize you’re a large spec on the dust storm. I remember going to fashion week in NY and London, I felt intimidated for the first time but once I let that go, I found it to be much more exciting. So yes, I was incredibly proud to be representing that. I’d like to point out that we’re in that infancy stage and we should be willing to see how we can be better. We shouldn’t be so hard on ourselves as Pakistan is an incredibly young country – predominantly of millennials, and we should strive to keep on learning and improving ourselves.
You’ve met designers from all over the world. What would you say they have that inspires you? Would you ever want to collaborate with one of them?
Which designers were you blown away by?
Givenchy new couture collection. First collection by this designer Clare Waight Keller and I was absolutely blown away. When someone new comes, I always think they’re depending too much on their predecessor or leaning towards too much embellishment. But it spoke to the designers talent. She used dark manipulations to create shape, and it was phenomenal and clean. Wasn’t expecting that! Really breathtaking.
Which stand-out pieces did you most admire?
If you could handpick any element from PFW and transport it to Pakistan’s Fashion Week, what would it be?
On the days when you weren’t attending shows, how did you pass time?
If you could recommend any Parisian restaurant or patessierie, which one would it be?