Kashmiri designer, 24, breaks stereotypes, sets ramp on fire

In the valley of violence, a 24-year-old woman is breaking stereotypes to redefine fashion and rediscover the paradise.

Mehak Tariq Beigh set the ramp on fire at the recently held Amazon India Fashion Week when she showcased her unique Kashmiri collection of transforming the old pherans (loose gowns used during winters) into eye-catching apparels.

For the 24-year-old débutante, the underlying message to showcase the unique collection was to make Kashmir proud and steal the show.

"I drew inspiration from our folk theatre Band Pather, which is almost forgotten. During early invent, the whole community was part of this theatre but it is no longer in use now. So I studied the clothes worn by its characters and tried to adopt it in my collection," said Mehak.

A final-year student of the Fashion Designing at New Delhi, Mehak showcased two of her garments made of used pherans and the models walked the ramp along with signature Kangri (fire pot used by Kashmiris during winter to keep warm) to create an aura of Kashmir.

"I bought old pherans from Kashmir. I deconstructed them further. There are seven smaller rectangular pieces in the Pheran. So I opened it all and started playing with it. I changed the pheran and made something new out of it," said Mehak.

Coming from a reputed business family of Kashmir, Mehak had never thought to be the fashion designer. After completing her schooling, she was confused about her future. In fact she almost landed in Kashmir University for integrated MBA. However she was neither enthused nor interested and with the result she dropped a year.

"I started painting. I did not want to do the things which I do not like or feel to do. I dropped one year without an iota of inkling about my future. My uncle then chipped in and prompted me to do something new. Then I joined the fashion designing course. And rest is history," she said.

For Mehak, Kashmir is the first love and theme for her collections which she plans to showcase even after completing her course in May this year. "I have given my six months to build this collection. I do not want mass production of it. I want to keep these designs unique and exquisite as they are. I plan to showcase my capsule collection every six months or one year. But I will not go for mass production," she said.