New Delhi: Pakistani designer Ali Xeeshan launched his 2021 bridal couture collection called ‘Numaish’, recently. Numaish is an Urdu word that means exhibition. The theme for his collection was to raise social awareness against the evil practice of dowry.
“Shedding light on the epochal and alarming issue of families fretting over saving money for their daughters’ dowry (Jahez) instead of their education that is far more important. It’s time to put a stop to this overburdening tradition!,” wrote Xeeshan on his Instagram post, talking about Numaish.
Reacting to his latest bridal collection and its theme, many Twitterati praised the designer for addressing an important issue in his 2021 bridal couture.
“Sadly, This is our society. We should educate today’s youth to pledge against dowry, ”read one tweet. Another tweet read, “Ali Xeeshan, a designer from Pakistan, makes a heavy statement through his recent launch. According to him, his all designs narrate a story. The latest is a campaign called ‘Numaish’ critiquing traditional system of Dowry. Goosebumps watching this.”
Sadly, This is our society.
We should educate today’s youth to pledge against dowry.#stopdowry #NumaishNaLagao #JahezkhoriBandKaro #StopDowryMongering @ALIXEESHAN pic.twitter.com/PgEyCgH5rZ— Manahil Ali (@mmanalayy) February 8, 2021
Ali Xeeshan, a designer from Pakistan, makes a heavy statement through his recent launch. According to him, his all designs narrate a story. The latest is a campaign called ‘Numaish’ critiquing traditional system of Dowry. Goosebumps watching this.@ALIXEESHAN #numaish #dowry pic.twitter.com/FhnNKEW5xk
— Aisha Abbas (@LadySherlockkk) February 8, 2021
However, there were a few Twitter users who had a different take on the designer’s campaign. They felt that creating an expensive bridal couture collection and then talking about a simple wedding are an oxymoron. “Misplaced tweet by @unwomen_pak totally ignoring the fact that designers like @ALIXEESHAN are a huge part of the problem when it comes to weddings. Parents need to save for years before they can afford to buy bridal dresses from such designers and there’s a constant competition,” replied one Twitter user on the UN Pakistan post, talking about the Numaish bridal collection.
Misplaced tweet by @unwomen_pak totally ignoring the fact that designers like @ALIXEESHAN are a huge part of the problem when it comes to weddings. Parents need to save for years before they can afford to buy bridal dresses from such designers and there’s a constant competition.
— Sarwat Ayub (@sashayub) February 8, 2021
Dowry is the practice of demanding money, property, and gifts from the bride’s family by the groom and his family. This causes a huge financial strain on the bride and her family and also leads to many social evils like bride burning, female feticide, lack of education in women among others.
Xeeshan studied fashion design at the Pakistan Institute of Fashion Design. His designs reflect his Punjabi heritage and follow a narrative structure of a story. The designer is fond of grandeur and uses it as a medium to share his philosophy in life.
