Has it really been just one year since Sumaya Khan launched her couture line? With three successful pret collections under her belt, this multi-tasking maven (she’s also a law teacher by day, and a makeup artist to the stars) is looking to warm up the winter wedding season with her first full bridal collection “Pakeeza”.
According to the designer, her name ‘Sumaya’ means pure, and ‘Pakeeza’ also means the same, so it was an easy decision to make -- perhaps the easiest in the long road to dropping this lineup, which she describes as ‘vintage, sophisticated, and worthy’.
Sumaya’s growing coterie of fans and repeat customers will attest to the fact that she is an old soul who draws her inspiration from masterpieces of the past, and her family background of owning a successful tailoring business has given her a keen awareness of structure, fit and movement. These sensibilities have also been woven into the Pakeeza line.
“Brides these days are very daring and fun. They go for colours that express their personality, even if this might buck traditional styles,” she tells us. Keeping this in mind, her bridal line has, in addition to the timeless red, options in black, white, neutrals as well as blues, greens and earth tones to give every kind of bride something to choose from.
“We had so much fun working with new fabrics this time. We created hand-crafted lehengas from Benaroshi handloom pre-silk saris. This is going to be a first for Bangladesh,” she announces, choosing to include the efforts of the artisans in her employ, since she sees the creation of Sumaya Khan Couture pieces as a collaborative process. In addition to her Benaroshi lehengas, the collection includes gharara sets in makhmal velvet with intricate zari work, hand-embroidered bridal long jackets, hand embroidered net saris, and full sleeve blouses with pure chiffon frills.
If you haven’t already guessed it, Pakeeza was inspired by the Nawabs of Old Dhaka, and the Begums of yore who graced Ahsan Manzil and Lalbagh Fort in their beautiful benaroshi saris and embroidered velvet gowns.
To check out the rest of this stunning collection, check out Sumaya Khan Couture on Instagram
