Recognized today as one of the trailblazers of contemporary Pakistani fashion, the young Zain Ali began his journey moving from Lahore to bustling east London at the age of six, and later to a rural village in the north of England. Needless to say, he is no stranger to change. “Growing up in a place like that, all you have is your imagination,” says the designer with a laugh. “It made me very creative and I had to really envision who I was, because my surroundings were so far removed from how I understood or perceived myself. My work today contends with and asks questions about my identity.”
In 2021, Ali launched his fashion label ZN ALI in Lahore – where he had spent several childhood summer holidays – and immersed himself in the fabric of the city for three years. He spent time unearthing archival imagery and researching personalities that sparked his curiosity: from the city’s revered Kathak dancers to pioneering figures in the art of textiles. “I think about their characters, about who they are, and based on that, I imagine my designs, and what this person would wear,” he explains of his process.
Now London-based once more and working in the sustainable fashion sector, as well as designing for his own label, Ali confesses that a career in a creative industry wasn’t something he felt confident to pursue at first. “I had this assumption that as a brown boy, I wouldn’t make it like that. When I was growing up, it wasn’t as prevalent to see. It wasn’t as hopeful as it feels today in terms of diverse voices in fashion.”
There is nothing forced or confrontational about Ali’s work. In fact, his garments are laced with an aura of gentleness and grace, and mostly showcased on friends and loved ones, whom he photographs and celebrates in intimate settings. “For a long time, the only way that South Asian designers have felt they can succeed in the global market is if they present a very particular image of their heritage or culture, and I just don’t buy that,” he says. “We can show ourselves having dinner, or in our homes, or the gentle ways that we interact with one another, and still be able to communicate something unique. These are the little moments that are part of my daily life and feel authentic to me. I think that clothes are shown most beautifully through the things that you love, because that is your world.”
Above all else, ZN ALI’s focus is on textiles, which have historically served as a great source of pride and national identity for Pakistan and the wider South Asian subcontinent. The fabrics for Ali’s collections are sourced internationally (from Egypt and Japan to Scotland) but the majority of the tailoring is done in Pakistan. “I will never stop producing there, because a big part of the brand’s objective is to upskill and invest in the mills, looms and generational weaving families that are slowly dying out,” he explains. “I’m celebrating a dying craft in the way that I design and in the fabrics that I use.”
From embroidery that references designs on the gates of old houses in Lahore (as seen on ZN ALI’s Rini shirt) to corset-like vests that allude to classical Mughal cuts, Ali’s clothes translate traditional elements into contemporary Pakistani fashion. “The collections are nostalgic in the way they revive the feeling of a slower past and a sense of quality,” he explains.
Ali also remains firm in his objective is to create clothing that is approachable. “I focus on simple cuts,” he says. “I invest a lot of time developing high-calibre, interesting textiles, and I don’t want it to be much louder than that. When I think about fashion right now, I reflect on the pressure that designers feel to keep up with a certain image, or to make their businesses look a certain way. I really want this brand to feel accessible, playful and full of heart.” znali.co
