The Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP) collaborates with top Pakistani designers for ProductCAP16

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The Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP) collaborated with six leading Pakistani fashion retail brands Deepak Perwani,  HSY, Khaula Jamil of K for Karachi, MAHGUL, Mahin Hussain, and Amneh Shaikh-Farooqui of Polly and other stories for a limited-edition series titled ‘#Product CAP #TheHistoryCollection’. This collaboration aims to showcase the history and culture of Pakistan in a unique way and instill pride in Pakistani citizens about their heritage.

Each of the six designers gave their own interpretation of Pakistan’s heritage from CAP’s archives and created limited-edition bespoke pieces as part of their ‘History Collection’. Deepak Perwani selected to create Scarves that were inspired by Pakistani Cinema, Nightlife and the Rocking 70’s; HSY created tunics in Lawn and Silk featuring Luxury, Glamour and Craftsmanship; Khaula Jamil of K for Karachi interpreted Pakistan Stamps, Flags into her bespoke jewelry i.e. rings/earrings/pendants thus instilling nostalgia; Maghul created clutches featuring Pakistan’s heritage sites; Mahin Hussain created bags/clutches inspired by old Pakistani advertisements as well as the infusing the 60’s in her collection; Polly & other Stories created bags that were inspired by Vintage Pakistani matchboxes.

Speaking about the initiative, Swaleha Alam Shahzada, Executive Director of CAP said:

 “This is an initiative by the Friends of CAP that allow creative and innovative use of the CAP archive. We are always looking for different ways of making the history and culture of Pakistan interesting and accessible to everyone. We hope to continue Product CAP and encourage other designers to become part of this as well.” 

The designers had the following to say about Product CAP:

“We are both proud and honoured to have been asked by CAP to produce a design piece for them. We greatly admire them and are inspired by the work CAP does and have hugely enjoyed creating something that represents a small piece of the rich history of Pakistan.” Polly and other stories.

“I chose four Pakistani product advertisements which were soap, sewing machine, beauty cream and the Peshawari chapal. These were starting points for the eventual play of retro imagery, treatment and witty text. All four subjects used are close to my heart.” Mahin Hussain

“I’ve mostly manipulated sections of old Pakistani postage stamps/flags and memorabilia to create the designs for the new K for Karachi limited edition CAP line. The Philosophy behind these designs is nostalgia and patriotism. The piece of jewellery you wear can serve as a statement or to remind one of the basis on which Pakistan was founded and what we need to do to revive that sentiment.” K for Karachi.

“We thought we’d take inspiration from the happening city that Karachi used to be so we’ve taken shots of the nightclubs, cinema posters and culminated it into a loud screaming kitsch scarf.” Deepak Perwani.

“We are taking inspiration from the currency used before partition and juxtaposing it with new age cinema and celebrities which we find very interesting. Our focus is the promotion of Pakistan so we are taking the past and bringing it to the future in terms of cinema.” HSY.

“We’ll be looking at Iznik and Suzani patterns in embroidery and juxtapose them on top of photographs from CAP’s archives.” Amir Rashid from MAHGUL.

The Citizens Archive of Pakistan (CAP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to cultural and historic preservation operating in Karachi and Lahore. CAP seeks to educate the community, foster an awareness of the nation’s history, and instill pride in Pakistani citizens about their heritage. CAP has three main goals: to preserve and provide access to it’s archive, to build and support educational programmes, and to develop educational products based on the testimonies collected with the vision to develop CAP as the foremost museum and heritage centre of Pakistani history, photography, culture, literature, and historical documentation demonstrating the strength and spirit of Pakistan from the perspective of a citizen.