Fashion Sheikhsters: Pakistani Designer: Elan by Khadija Shah~

1. Tell us a little about yourself and your brand, Elan?

I acquired my love for designing from my mother who used to design for family and friends for as long as I can remember. My sister’s and I hardly ever went to designers to shop for clothes; Ela as we call our mother, would take us around get whatever materials and embellishments we liked and put together our outfits herself and they were always better than anything available at the boutiques. I think that’s how I got the design bug. After graduating from college in London I came back to Pakistan and initially started off by helping my mother with her work. My mother however only did it as a hobby as she was busy with a lot of other work and I wanted to do this on a much larger scale. I had a dream of bringing about a fashion revolution at least in Lahore (ha ha I though people dressed really badly here, but lahorites have come a long way since then) and so I parted ways with Ela and set up Élan as a formal part of the fashion industry.

2. What does Elan stand for, what’s your design philosophy?

Élan is a French word and is synonymous with style, confidence and elegance. My design philosophy can also be defined by these three words. An Élan outfit can be traditional or modern, heavily worked or lightly embellished but it will always be pleasing to the eye, a standard which I feel most local designers find very hard to achieve. I never design anything that I would not wear myself and I think that’s a large part of why my clothes are appreciated so much. Also, I research my designs quite thoroughly, in terms of colour, international trends, patterns and motifs. For example my prêt line showcases a lot of prints which is an influence from the international catwalks as most local designers hardly ever use the beautiful prints available.

3. What is the driving force behind your success and respected status?

I think the fact that I am dependable. Apart from the very rare unavoidable instance, I always deliver on time and my clients always get exactly the same product as the sample. The outfit has to satisfy me before it is even presented to the client, so I pretty much go out of my way for each customer regardless of what the price constraints might be because I want all élan clothes to look and feel great.

Below are some AMAZING designs of Elan's runway collection: