ISLAMABAD: As the holy month of Ramadan draws to a close, tailors and fashion designers in the Pakistani capital said they had been working extra hours to deliver orders ahead of the festival of Eid Al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of fasting.
Muslims around the world usually buy new clothes, shoes and jewelry for Eid, with tailor-made outfits an affordable option for many, creating a rush at tailoring and fashion designer outlets as women and men, young and old, all clamor to get their outfits made in time.
The Eid boom boosts businesses and creates job opportunities for both skilled and unskilled laborers.
“We have increased the number of workers to deliver the orders in time,” Raja Muhammad Zameer, a sales manager at Behbud Boutique in Islamabad, told Arab News. “Their workload [in the run up to Eid] increases.”
The picture posted on April 6, 2023, shows the Eid collection of Behbud Boutique. (Behbud Boutique/Instagram)
The boutique, located in an upscale neighborhood of Islamabad, is famous for its handmade stitching and exclusive designs for men, women, and children and known for spending its profits on welfare activities as it runs a non-profit hospital as well as schools for the poor.
Behbud employs around 4,000 workers, mostly young females and widows, and pays nearly Rs3 million in monthly wages, Zameer said, as he entered fresh Eid orders into a computer at the store.
Women and men’s tailors in Islamabad were also swamped and working overtime to deliver Eid outfits on time.
“We stitch every kind of design, but the fact is we tend to ignore designs in Ramadan to save time and deliver maximum orders,” Haq Nawaz, a men’s tailor in Islamabad, told Arab News, saying white and off-white dresses with trousers and pajamas and shalwar kameez in light colors were trendy this season.
Many tailoring shops in Islamabad said they had hired extra hands who were working overtime to deliver orders before Eid. Many also urged the government to ensure regular supply of electricity in the last three to four days of Ramadan so they could deliver the outfits on time.
“We are fully booked now,” Mohammad Mujahid told Arab News while cutting sleeves out of a piece of cloth for a woman’s suit at his small shop in the basement of an Islamabad mall.
Mujahi said he and his colleagues were sleeping only four hours a night to complete their orders in time:
“We have closed booking since the 12th of Ramadan [April 3].”
