Fashion designer exploring Urdu poems, Pakistani heritage, feminist themes and gothic aesthetics through avant garde womenswear. My work translates poetry, identity and cultural memory into layered garments through textile experimentation, craftsmanship and dark romantic storytelling.
Gothic Ghazal
Final collection image exploring Urdu poetry, feminist identity and gothic interpretations of Pakistani heritage.
Design lineup showing the development of three final looks, combining gothic aesthetics, South Asian dress references and poetic visual storytelling.
Lineup exploring gothic silhouettes, layered garments and South Asian inspired visual storytelling through black, white and gold.
Poetry, Identity and Gothic Womenswear
This project translates Urdu poetry, feminist themes and Pakistani heritage into a gothic avant garde womenswear collection. Each poem informed the emotional direction of the work, exploring themes of longing, resistance, female identity and cultural memory. Through research, illustration and garment development, the collection challenges stereotypical expectations of South Asian fashion by presenting a darker, more reflective visual narrative.
Research into Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poetry, resistance and hope, informing the collection’s darker cultural narrative.
Visual research collage for Aurat aur Namak by Sara Shagufta, exploring feminist resistance, patriarchy, women’s voices, and social oppression in Pakistani society.
Visual research collage for Wo to Khushboo Hai by Parveen Shakir, exploring love, femininity, longing, patriarchy, and the emotional limitations placed on women.
Look 1: Exploring a traditional garment through exploring gothic themes like churches and taking inspiration from the instruments used in the recitation of the poem.
Look 2: A monochrome avant garde garment exploring confinement, gargopoetry, feminiyals, ghosts and breaking out of patriarcal norms through contrast, movement and drape.
Look 3: Featuring dark romantic styling, soft movement and gothic femininity, inspired by a poem about fading love and gothic mourning attire.
Group portrait showing the three looks together, highlighting the collection’s dark romantic mood, poetic storytelling, and visual connection between the garments.
