Emraan Rajput – The reigning mogul of menswear

If you go back into time by a decade, you would notice a completely different scenario in the Pakistani fashion industry. It was a time when fashion weeks were young and happening, and the designers were more eager to be showcased in them. There was a hunger to reach the top and many kept persevering in that aim for years to come. One such name amidst the new and young designers on the block was of Emraan Rajput, who also happens to be the only designer from that era to have become the most-selling brand name in menswear today.

It wasn’t like this in the beginning, considering how the artist started off from an entrepreneurial family that was completely unattached to the world of couture. Rajput saw his approach into fashion as something he had once been interested in, but never really thought of making it into a career. Nonetheless, as luck would have it, Emraan Rajput would become a new entrant into the glamour world in the late 2000s and find an immense spike of success.

“I come from a family with ten siblings and a large entrepreneurial mindset. Fashion design as a field wasn’t something my family or I thought would enter as a profession,” he quips. “I graduated with a degree in business, and I realised I might as well use it for something that I did have a passion for since ages. As time passed, I finally chose to take a leap of faith and entered the fashion world.”

The designer, who is the proud face behind his studio situated at Karachi’s upscale Zamzama Boulevard, has been doing more than just fashion. He chose not just to open an atelier, but also ensure his name is amongst those bringing a fresh approach to menswear on the runway every time. This is where we saw the Titan-like entry of Emraan Rajput –

“It was exactly 11 years ago in 2011 that I made my entry in the fashion week circuit. Let me be honest, it was one of the most difficult things I ever did! It took a lot of courage and hard-work to make my debut collection a success, but I am glad it worked out for me.”

But, was it the luck and success that he found after debuting his first collection on the runway which made him decide on being a connoisseur of fashion weeks more than any other menswear designers?

“I would like to think so (laughs). Jokes apart, I think despite what so many of my contemporaries say about fashion weeks being a dead medium, it has only provided me with the strong market that I needed,” the designer comments. “I like to believe that my collections on the runway are always ones that are made with the consumer in mind, which automatically creates a need for them by those who understand appreciate good menswear. You may not believe it, but we have had collections that we had just debuted on the runway and the next day someone came and booked them all!”

Rajput, who has been a name that has ended up on almost every important runway in the fashion circuit in Pakistan, is no stranger to international events either. It was exactly at one such global event in the Middle East, which got him emerging as a major name in the international South Asian-style grooms-wear market as well.

“I have been a part of fashion weeks in Doha and Dubai in my initial days, which did play a huge role in making the Emraan Rajput brand a success in other countries. From that, I was able to tap into the European markets, and ended up being one of the few Pakistani designers to showcase in Norway and Scotland, including the United Kingdom as well,” Rajput points out as he remembers the trajectory of his style empire. “Today, I can gladly say that a global clientele makes up a major number of my sales for my grooms-wear and bespoke pieces.”

In spite of his positive outlook on the need for fashion week, a stark reality many designers today point out is the dwindling quality of the once-grand fashion events that headlined the vogue calendar in Pakistan each year. Rajput feels some type of way on this particular discourse:

“I won’t lie and say that fashion weeks are perfect in Pakistan, in fact, there are quite a number of places where the events can become better,” the designer comments. “Public relations, for one, I feel can do so much better. The budget constraints play a role, but that doesn’t mean that mediocrity comes into play or that any up-and-coming PR person could come into the ringleader position.”

PR, however, isn’t the only issue Rajput finds at such events.

“The fashion fraternity – if one can call it that – is also slightly disjointed backstage. If designers require better working conditions behind the scenes of it all at a show, then we need to be united in our voice towards that as well,” he said. “An actual fraternal bond is what the scene needs right now.”

The designer, apart from his reign at fashion weeks, is also one of the rare names we find today that is actively involved in the creative process of creating multiple fashion campaigns each year. Whether it is the Fall-Winter season where he utilises multitudes of heavy textiles or the Spring-Summer season – apart from his wedding season, and luxury prêt campaigns, Rajput rarely misses out revealing the latest on his massively-followed social media pages.

“Consistency is the secret to my success. There may be a thousand designers out there who are creating state-of-the-art ensembles, but they rarely continue after say, one failure or two,” Emraan claims. “You need to stick to what you are doing and strive even when it feels that nothing is going your way. Today, I can easily count the many collections I showcase each year. We don’t shy away from telling the Pakistani market about what trends they should follow. In fact, we often become the flagbearer of trends in menswear, because we continue to bring out campaigns without fearing about the result.”

Consistency and being ahead of the trend curve, as the designer pointed out, would truly play a part in Emraan’s success – especially when attributed with being the household name for celebrities as well, which includes the likes of Humayun Saeed, Fahad Mustafa, Atif Aslam, Danish Taimoor, Bilal Saeed, and Mikaal Zulfiqar, to name a few.

“I don’t want to point out each and every celebrity name who has been a client, but I can fortunately say the list doesn’t end,” the designer remarks. “I think what makes us a name many choose to select for their red carpet looks and even for their big days is the fact that we don’t stagnate the client with the same-old, one-size-fits-all formula. There’s always a process to listen to them and create what they need, which makes them feel more appreciated as well.”

There are many closely-guarded secrets to a successful designer, but Emraan Rajput is an open-book on the guide to success. His humble attitude and the goal to create without the tethers of doubt hindering him have been his biggest reasons to be who he is, and one can safely say, this reigning mogul of the menswear realm is here to stay – and thrive!