Daily Times

A two-day exhibition of clothes under the brand name of Be Yourself kicked off in Lahore on Friday with a variety of menswear.

The exhibition included t-shirts, leather jackets, track suits and fleece jackets for men. The exhibition continued until Saturday on MM Alam Road. Organised by designer Umair Alam, the exhibition portrays a glimpse of life experiences of the designer that he depicted in his products quite successfully.

“I have presented my learning experiences in life through my garments. I have paid homage to my friends and things that I observed throughout my life’s journey,” Umair Alam said, while talking exclusively to Daily Times. Sharing the theme of his brand Be Yourself, Alam said that this exhibition was all about self-description as “I presented my life experiences in my designs. For instance, I described the dialogues of different movies that were my childhood favourites in my work and I will also name it as my art gallery because it has artwork in it”.

Alam said that he has 15 products in the exhibition that include t-shirts, leather jackets, track suits and fleece jackets. He informed that he had earlier organised exhibitions in Europe for over five years but this was his first exhibition in Pakistan and he selected Lahore for that purpose.

“I got an overwhelming response on the first day and I’m expecting more people on the second day as well. I know many people were busy on Friday with the Aurat Azadi March,” he added.

Alam’s exhibition was held at Pace, MM Alam Road which is an ideal location for holding exhibitions. Alam has beautifully made the portrait of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah drawn on t-shirts with different colour schemes that were truly an attraction for visitors. He named these t-shirts ‘Something about Quaid’

Alam has beautifully gotten the portrait of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah drawn on four t-shirts with different colour schemes that were truly an attraction for visitors. He named these t-shirts ‘Something about Quaid’.

Talking about this design, he told Daily Times that this t-shirt represented money and everything that goes along with it.

“Something About Quaid is a metaphor that represents people’s infatuation with money and the red tear signifies the struggle to earn that money by any means be it legal or illegal,” he said. In another piece that has a blend of both Eastern and Western, he said that as he lived both in England and Pakistan, he therefore tried to represent both the places in one garment. The price of his garments range from Rs 2,500 to Rs 25,000.

“You don’t find things but things themselves find you,” he said, when asked about his motivation for holding such exhibitions.

Alam’s exhibition was held at Pace, MM Alam Road which is an ideal location for holding ad hoc exhibitions.

Published in Daily Times, March 10^th 2019.