Daily Times

This is not the first time when our traditional Pashtu footwear The Peshawari Chappal made it into the limelight of international fashion.

In 2014 Paul Smith re-designed and sold the Peshawari Chappal for £300 at his store and on his website.

Peshawari Chappals are made from soft leather which is sewn onto a rubber tyre sole. It is the most common form of footwear in Pakistan and usually looks best with traditional shalwar kamiz. Once again, Peshawari Chappal’s images were seen of late on Christian Louboutin’s website. The funky orange chappal is embellished with spiky studs to one side of the shoe and the other glittery silver half has the designers name engraved on it. Christian Louboutin named the shoes Imran Sandals.

Louboutin is famous for his red soles and luxury designs around the globe. A couple of years ago, the artist came to Pakistan for a workshop, where he met Imran who is a Pakistani artist. The designer named the sandals after his friend’s name, calling them Imran Sandal.

Louboutin is famous for his red soles and luxury designs around the globe. A couple of years ago, the artist came to Pakistan for a workshop, where he met Imran who is a Pakistani artist. The designer named the shoe the Imran Sandal after his friend

Imran thanked his designer friend for naming his latest creation after his name saying, “Thanks to my amazing friend Louboutin for this beautiful work on my name. I am totally loving it.”

Imran has received awards like Art Now Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016 and was also called the Artist of the Year in 2013 by Deutsche Bank. He created a huge piece of art on the rooftop of the Metropolitan Museums in New York. The artist takes inspiration from the current affairs of his country. He works with blood to depict pain, misery and torture in his art. Louboutin visited the artist’s exhibition in 2017 in Islamabad National Council of Arts. The sandal’s name is said to be inspired by his Pakistani friend’s name. Although 24 hours later, the image was taken down from the designer’s website and Instagram page. The reason for this remains unknown.

The writer can be reached at zarimua@gmail.com

Published in Daily Times, March 26^th 2019.