Designer Stella Jean’s Pakistan inspired collection hits Milan Fashion Week ramp

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce, United Nations Industrial Development Organization and Italian designer Stella Jean have joined forces to bring the talents of Pakistan’s scenic valleys of Chitral, Gilgit, Hunza and Kalash to Milan’s runways.
Milan Fashion Week, which ran from September 17th to 23rd, is one of the leading and most watched international fashion weeks within September, otherwise known as fashion month where designers showcase their spring/summer 2020 collections across the globe from New York to London, Milan, France and beyond. And, among those ramps, were the handwork and honed craftsmanship of women from Pakistan’s beautiful north.
Stella Jean reportedly lived in Chitral for roughly 2 months where she immersed herself among the Kalash women and became familiar with their handicrafts and their signature hand embroidery on their dresses — a tradition which has been dying out.
Jean, inspired by the women and the hard work she witnessed, decided to use her next collection to highlight women of Pakistan’s north, empower them through employment all through her spring/summer 2020 collection.
For the endeavor, Jean teamed up with Karishma Ali, Pakistan’s female football team’s captain, and the Chitral Women’s Handicrafts Center. Hailing from Chitral herself, Ali is also the founder of Chitral’s first ever Women’s Sports Club.
According to Vogue, Jean tapped 46 Kalash women who embroidered over 4,000 meters of material ranging from dresses to belts to colorful seams and adding traditional touches across her collection. 
Jean’s press release on the collection states that this is the first time the women and the center operated to produce garments or embroideries for a customer outside of their own community.