Haider is a menswear designer specialising in tailoring. Fascinated by historical dress, he takes traditional tailoring techniques and incorporates South Asian pattern cutting to transform tailoring into a completely unique approach.
Being born British with Pakistani heritage, he finds there is almost a sense of displacement in both worlds. Through that experience, he takes the benefits of having two cultures in that he is able to learn from. As a result, he is able to create a fusion of fashion that represents who he is as a designer.
INSPIRATION
The inspiration of my collection came from the research of the last Maharaja of Indore, Yeshwant Rao Holkar II. In my research, I found a quote that I felt I could relate to from my experience as a British Pakistani. ‘It would seem that the Maharaja was torn between the two worlds he inhabited, wanting to live in both, while refusing to belong to any.’ From this, I wanted to create a concept that told his story through a world he can truly live in and belong.
As part of my coinciding dissertation on 'The Effects of the British Raj on Tailoring in India.' I had research the effects of British Imperialism and Eurocentrism. As a result of nearly 100 years of British rule, the modern man of India exchanged their traditional garms for a suit and tie. As another element to my collection, I wanted to change the narrative, by taking traditional tailoring and enhance it with the almost-lost traditional draping techniques and symbolism of Mughal costume
DETAIL
As a result of my research and experimentation with references to the Mughal dress and tailoring, I have materialised what I envisioned the world of which the Maharaja could belong to. By using high quality wool used for tailoring, I have incorporated drape and movement into the traditional suits, whilst still keeping the elements of a clean and sharp garment. From this style of Indo-Western design, I hope to open a conversation that discusses the idea of what it means to be lost between two worlds. As a whole, I hope that I envisioned a world of what the late Maharaja would have dreamt about, a world in which he could belong to.