Can the new faces of Sapphire continue the legacy?

Ever since it was announced that Elan’s Khadijah Shah and Sapphire would be parting ways after their hugely successful collaboration, there was much talk about who would be replacing her as creative director for the brand.

Rumors were finally put to rest this week as the giant announced that two prominent designers, Kamiar Rokni and Mahgul Rashid as their new Design Director and Creative Director, respectively. Both have impressive backgrounds and come with their own sets of achievements in the design field.

Kamiar has been designing women wear for almost two decades, and after his initial stint as Karma in partnership with Maheen Kardar Ali, he went on to set up his own fashion house, the House of Kamiar Rokni. Mostly popular for their bridal and traditional formal wear, the brand has met with considerable success, both in Pakistan and at international fashion events.

Mahgul Rashid made her debut in 2013 and met with instant popularity for her quirky and fun sense of design. While her designs and cuts are not conventional, she has carved her own niche in the fashion world, and is popular amongst many Pakistani celebrities who love her off beat style.

In 2017, Mahgul designed the lawn collection for Al-Zohaib Textiles.

In the short span of three years since Khadijah Shah came on board and the launch of its first flagship store in Karachi, Sapphire has emerged as one of the leading brands of Pakistani fast fashion. Since then, Sapphire has launched four flagship stores in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad. Women of all ages from all over Pakistan have loved this brand, the quality of their material combined with Khadijah’s design aesthetic and each new collection generates  overwhelming sales for the company.

Everything seemed to be working for both Sapphire and Khadijah, so while what went wrong and led to the split, will likely remain a mystery for many the high fashion drama will continue with a competing designer taking over the reigns at Sapphire. It will be interesting to see are the consequences, if any, this will have for the Sapphire brand in the highly competitive world of textile.

Although Khadijah’s shoes will be hard to fill, she has helped elevate the brand  to an incredible position and fortunately for Kamiar and Mahgul, they have been given a great head start. It would be a real shame if they struggle to keep up the legacy.

The first collection comes out in February 2018 and we look forward to see what these new faces are bringing out for the Sapphire consumers.