"Omar launched his eponymous collection in 2008, since then his luxurious collection of immaculately cut dresses, classy gowns and stylish separates has adorned glamorous women around the world including British actresses, International royalty and European aristocracy at various red carpets including Oscars and Cannes."
Omar Mansoor
words by Ross Pollard
IIt's a warm summer evening in early September, we're sitting in the garden of a private club that backs on to Green Park sipping on some excellent ginger beers, the gentle breeze stopping the humidity of the day from getting a grip. Opposite me is Omar Mansoor, the designer from Faisalabad who has taken time out from his fashion week preparations to chat with me about his career and his show that is just two weeks away.
Over drinks we'll discuss the history of Pakistan, it's politics, textile industry and growing fashion scene, we'll discuss how difficult it is to get journalists and buyers to head out to the various fashion centres of his home nation, and of course his journey. It's easy to tell that while Omar loves his life in London there will always be a part of him that's tied to his home city, the passion and warmth he brings to the subject shows that he'll always have part of his collections that come from the city that gave birth to him.
The man himself comes across as shy and quiet, but when you get to know Omar as I have over the the last few years you come to know him as one of the warmest and most charming men in the industry. Underneath the humble nature is a man that loves to enjoy London life and has an impish sense of humour, and every so often he giggles as he tells stories about the crazy world he lives in.
Having left Pakistan for London to study then launch his label Omar has become an international star, his collections are shown and bought across continents, just before we got together he'd been on a tour of the Middle East and China meeting clients and putting on catwalks, he's a hot property right now, and one that every fan of elegance should note down in their little book of designers to know.
The Quiet Revolution
Having left Pakistan for London to study then launch his label Omar has become an international star, his collections are shown and bought across continents, just before we got together he'd been on a tour of the Middle East and China meeting clients and putting on catwalks, he's a hot property right now, and one that every fan of elegance should note down in their little book of designers to know.
Also Omar has a bit of a sweet tooth and I can personally testify that during his global travels he's compiled possibly the greatest list of cafes and cake shops in the world, if he ever gives up fashion he could easily produce the best guidebook money could buy on baked delights.
Having been a watcher of Omar's work for many seasons now it was with great delight that I took my seat at Fashion International (Omar shows there each year and is also a huge supporter of emerging designers) to see what he'd been up to. The collection is centred around the centenary of the Russian Revolution and picks up on themes and thoughts from the period.