Umair Zafar to open branded stores on high streets

Known for his ethnic wear designs mostly revolving around weddings and festivities, designer Umair Zafar recently launched a prêt line especially targeted at the youth. And the USP is very affordable starting at Rs 2,000 onwards. “The collection includes

western and Indo western wear. I also launched an online platform shop.umairzafar.in to retail this line and also to reach out to a wider customer base,” explains Umair Zafar.

He has also tied up with other major online retail portals like Retail Mart, SBI Mega Mall, HDFC Smart Buy among others. Talking about his plans, he says, “I am planning to launch a range of party gowns for evening wear apart from building retail network for the brand. I am looking at opening branded stores on high streets in Tier II and Tier III cities. I would explore the shop-in-shop concept, which will have a region-specific collection.”

The designer has also introduced customized designing concept for clients, where he personally guides the customer keeping his personality, profession and lifestyle in mind. “The end objective is to make him look perfect and fashionable,” he says.

Zafar started his designing journey with his father in a small embroidery workshop in Mumbai. “We specialized in hand embroidery. I worked for various Indian wear commercial stores and exporters and graduated to exports of Indian embellishments to the US, Italy and other Middle Eastern countries. It’s been a long and hard-working journey,” he explains.

Adding further, Zafar says that since childhood he was into fabrics, colours, and designs, he found it very fascinating. Though his forte lies in ethnic and bridal wear, he believes that since India is a country of diverse cultures, none of the fashion trend or style can dominate for long. “There is lot of fusion and films are strong influencing factors when it comes to trends and style. Rather I would say, Indian masses and local styles have even influenced Bollywood and film stars to a great extent,” he sums up.