Pakistan’s style icon Ayesha Omer is commonly seen at award ceremonies dressed like something from a fairytale. The fashionista is always on point when it comes to style. Major award shows have selected Ayesha as the most stylish celebrity in the industry. The voguish star is often seen smooching her trophies, adorned in a huge butterfly embellished ball-gown or a beautiful midnight blue dress with a long trail running down the staircase. She is seen sporting the same grace and style all over social media. Ayesha is a designer’s dream. From the most stylish TV host award by Hum TV to the more recent, ‘Taghma-e-Fakhr-e-Pakistan this year, she is always dressed for the occasion. Her commendable sense of style is what got our attention and Daily Times caught up with the fashionista for an exclusive interview. How important is fashion to you? Style is a little more important than fashion as style is your personal statement and your expression. Fashion is the trend that you follow, unless you look at it as being fashionable. Yes, I do like to dress up and look presentable according to the occasion, but I don’t follow trends blindly at all. I wear what I think looks good on my body type and how it speaks to me, how comfortable do I wish to be in a particular situation. I see my comfort and practicality a lot more than I used to before. That’s how fashion is for me. 5 must haves in a fashionistas closet? A great pair of jeans, a white tank top, a formal black top, a black dress and semi-formal or pastel shalwar kameez Must have shoes? Pointy black heels,metallic heels, Pretty white or nude sandals, a pair of a really fun colored or white sneakers and heeled ankled or knee-high boots. Should fashion be comfortable or doesn’t it matter? Fashion needs to be comfortable, especially for me as we artists have to stand for long hours. I like to be a little comfortable, but if you are going to an award show or an event then sometimes you have to sacrifice practicality and comfort. If you want to make a statement once in a while you sacrifice comfort, but most days I choose comfort. How do you select an outfit for an event? Well, I select it according to the kind of stuff I am doing at that event or how much movement I am going to have for that day or event. The weather and the location of the event also play a huge role in how I choose to dress up. For a humid, outdoor event, I won’t leave my hair down or curl it, I would rather have a neatly swept hairdo. So these things really matter in how I select an outfit or look for any event I go to. If I am walking around a lot, then I make sure my heels are comfortable and my dress is not too fitted for movement to be easy. Are there any fashion designers or celebrities that inspire your style? There are a lot of people that inspire me. Within Pakistan it would have to be Meesha Shafi, and Zara Peerzada is also very stylish. In designers I love Nomi Ansari, Elan, Hussain Rehar, Teena Durani, Shehla Chatoor, Muse. I like Zara Shahjehan too. I think Feeha Jamshed is also very stylish. Even Veneeza Ahmed’s style back in the days when she was modeling was very elegant and simple and I really liked it. These are some of the designers or people that inspire me. Internationally it would be, Elie Saab, Valentino, Ah! so many – Alexander McQueen, Chanel! Can you state a few fashion don’ts or mistakes that can be a huge turn off? I don’t really like wedges that much. I think wedges can only be worn with a particular style of clothing-like a floral midi dress or something like a long flared boot cut jeans. You can’t end up wearing wedges with a mini-skirt, so wedges can be a turn off sometimes. Another don’t would be – don’t try and copy someone else completely, always add a personal touch. You can be inspired by other people, but don’t try to copy another person’s style as what looks good on them may not look good on you. You can lose your own essence in the sense of style if you keep doing that. Do take advice from people but always follow your gut!