Kashmiri fashion designer soars to new heights

Pulwama: A budding Kashmiri fashion designer from South Kashmir’s Pulwama district has been selected as Fashion Illustrator in Pantaloons.

Shahid Rashid Bhat, who is a promising fashion designer & wardrobe consultant, has been hired by Pantaloons for a one year contract to work as Fashion Illustrator.

Shahid didn’t go to any design school until he discovered his talent. In fact, it wasn’t until 2012 that he decided to touch ground and take his creative side to new heights.

In 2012, he joined a design school and never looked back. He graduated from Pearl Academy, Delhi, one of the best fashion designing colleges in India, in 2015. He also accomplished two Advance PG Diploma in Fashion Merchandising. Presently, he’s doing Masters in Craft Design from the University of Kashmir.

“I really wanted to create something that was totally me, that just speaks to my soul and I could outwardly project that in clothing that all especially youth could wear and enjoy, and get the same feelings and inspiration,” he muses.

Shahid says he spent years looking for the designs he had in his head. He scoured clothing racks and online stores to no avail. Eventually, after a fruitless search for the elusive garments he sought after, he finally decided to take matters into his own hands and design them himself.

Shahid, who has got his own label with the name SRB Style Statement, has been considered as the most promising and most efficient designer by the Managing Director of Pantaloons, Pranab Barua.

Pantaloons is an International unisex fashion clothing brand with its head office in Mumbai.

“You know, last year I was travelling in a Sumo. I was wearing a coat while a man seated beside me had a Pheran. Security forces forced the man to lift his Pheran up while checking the vehicle and didn’t utter a word towards me”, disclosed Shahid.

In a recently held meetup, Shahid was given the job of Fashion Illustrator in Pantaloons. The job contract has been signed for a year with Shahid to receive four lakh rupees as Future Security Fund if he opts for Ph.D in Textiles and Designing.

“Shahid has not been given this job on what he has produced but what he can produce given his skills and knowledge”, says Pranab Barua. “Having such a knowledgeable person in our company can be fruitful”, adds Pranab.

Pranab also said that we want more youth of Kashmir to opt for this field as we have various job opportunities for creative people like Shahid. He added that youth of Jammu & Kashmir are full of talent and need just an opportunity to showcase their skills.

In the recent meeting at the head office of Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), Delhi, Shahid put forth some valuable and innovative thoughts regarding designing and textiles like ‘Khadi’ Pants, Cotton blended Jeans, ‘Matka’ Silk, adding embroidery to dull gone clothes.

Shahid wants to revive the lost glory of cultural clothing like Pheran – the traditional outfit of Kashmiris, especially during Winters and is making efforts in this direction.

“You know, last year I was travelling in a Sumo. I was wearing a coat while a man seated beside me had a Pheran. Security forces forced the man to lift his Pheran up while checking the vehicle and didn’t utter a word towards me”, disclosed Shahid.

He explains, “This very incident motivated me to choose Pheran as an International project! I think Pheran which is our cultural asset should not be looked upon with suspicion.”