High street fashion: Urban Culture hits the capital

The store provides customers with options to browse through a variety of clothes and accessories. PHOTOS: MUHAMMAD JAVAID

ISLAMABAD:  After taking Lahore by surprise, Urban Culture is all set to take over the Islamabad market. Situated in the populace Super Market, the new trendy store apparel brings in a mix of preppy and style.

While the brand focuses on polo shirts and plaid prints, the women’s collection also features embellished chiffon shift shirts. The store directly competes with Crossroads and Outfitters.
“Urban Culture is hip, loud and preppy. [It has] specially designed fits with eclectic detailing,” said the young designer Hammad Sheikh. “Our outfits are prepared for every possible urban environment and speak of universality of craftsmanship and design.”
The company’s Managing Director, Saad Aziz, said they strive to provide “international high quality merchandise” at affordable prices to the local market. The autumn/winter collection will feature trench coats, jackets, accessories and jewellery. The brand is employing four types of fabric in their collection:  knit, woven, denim and non-denim.
The collection, overall, has a different feel to what we have seen in the market. While Stoneage dominates the market for denim wear, Urban Culture vouches for the same level of quality in its cotton and linen merchandise. Plaid has been a major player in world fashion for the past two years, with the whole cowboy look making an impact.
Urban Culture has taken on this trend and mass produced it for clients that cannot afford to pay exorbitant amounts for apparel or travel abroad frequently.
Not only the women’s wear, but the menswear collection too has some very interesting themes. The graphic t-shirts follow the car series, party-oriented prints, music series and has a laidback summer collection of beach graphic prints.
Since its launch in Lahore in May this year, the label has opened three stores and is due to open at least another three in the next two months.
Sheikh added, “Urban Culture is about a philosophy and quality, which would be at home in any global urban centre, be it London, Paris, New York, Tokyo or Lahore.”
Published in The Express Tribune, August 26^th, 2011.