September 07, 2008

The horrifying murder of Sheikh-Amer Hassan (SAH) in Karachi has sent shockwaves throughout the fashion fraternity of Pakistan. A stylish, elegant gent who loved to entertain in high style and dress up to the occasion, SAH impressed everyone he met with his fancy patter and stylish swagger.

It was in the winter of 1990 that I, along with my friend Arshad Tareen, met SAH in Lahore. He was just starting out as a designer and both Arshad and I were introduced to him to see if we could promote him. Arshad, at the time, was the publisher/editor of the trendsetting monthly Men’s Club, of which I was the assistant editor.

And so I did SAH’s (first) interview and still remember how passionately he talked about revolutionsing the Pakistan fashion industry. Subsequently, I did two more interviews with him and I always felt that he was an extremely talented and gifted person with a multi-layered personality due to which he was greatly misunderstood….and also despised by many of the so-called fashion industry bigwigs who were not only jealous of him but also felt intimidated by him because of his strong, overpowering personality.Amer went on to do a groundbreaking men’s shoot for which he did something previously unheard of — he designed chiffon shirts and thus the shoot was aptly titled Once Chiffon a Time. Later, he also stylised and coordinated other shoots for the magazine which were photographed by Arshad Tareen — of these the shoot of Samina Peerzada created much sensation mostly due to Amer’s unique art direction. The make-up was by Shamain who was also a newcomer at the time. Later, Amer also coordinated a few of Babra Sharif’s shoots which again were photographed by Arshad. Amer also had a fashion show at PC Bhurban when the hotel opened up.

 

There is no doubt in my mind that had Sheikh-Amer Hassan been born in another country he would have been a successful and sought after fashion designer and art director. He had a great flair for creativity and a lot of aesthetic sense. Sadly, his talent in our country fell victim to the fashion industry’s intrigues and machinations… otherwise he would have been the Andy Warhol of Pakistan.

 

He took photographer Khawar Riaz, then in the early days of his career, under his wing and groomed and guided him — a fact that is proudly acknowledged by the latter. For a show in Lahore, Amer managed to convince the famous pop act Boney M to come to Pakistan and perform. He had dressed Jemima Khan and her mother, and also shared a close affinity with the famous writer Barbara Cartland. He did shows in London, New York, Montenegro, Belgrade, among others.

Amer moved to Karachi a few years back where he became a social gadabout with his residence Sheikh Villa at Zamzama becoming the talk of the town because of his penchant for entertaining guests in style. Amer also had many foreign friends many of whom came to Pakistan because of him — prominent among them being Boudicca Swanson, the granddaughter of Gloria Swanson.

It is a pity that as a designer Amer failed to dent the local fashion scene in a big way. Though immensely talented, the so-called mainstream fashionistas had apparently ganged up against him. But as they say, talent always manages to makes it way and he was appointed as the fashion director of a private television network where he worked for a few years.

Although Amer and I never bonded socially or intimately, we both shared this amity for each other and he would always meet me affectionately. After I shifted to Islamabad 10 years ago, we drifted apart, only occasionally keeping in touch through the net or sometimes when we’d bump into each other. I last met him two years back in Karachi at a party thrown by a mutual scribe friend. He had just started doing his TV show For Him and also recorded my views for it.

There is no doubt in my mind that had Sheikh-Amer Hassan been born in another country he would have been a successful and sought after fashion designer and art director. He had a great flair for creativity and had a lot of aesthetic sense. Sadly, his talent in our country fell victim to the fashion industry’s intrigues and machinations… otherwise he would have been the Andy Warhol of Pakistan.