My story begins in a wee place in Scotland called Fort William… I had a very Highland upbringing mixed in with a strong Pakistani influence. My mother was a dressmaker and she instilled in me a great sense of good fashion aesthetic, encouraging me to sketch my own designs (which were always East Meets West :). For pocket money growing up I used to do tailoring alterations for her which was great training for me being comfortable on my own sewing machine today.
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Most of my professional work life I have been a senior creative mainly in the magazine world - if I wasn't designing pages I would be off art directing a shoot or commissioning illustrators. It enabled me to visualise creative concepts with great ease. I'm sure all the creative ebb and flow contributed to me coming up with the idea for the Virtue head wrap.
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The idea for it came about quite accidentally, I was simply just messing around with some items in my closet and the construct came to me. I made my first one on my sewing machine when I needed to cover up more-so for a religious ceremony - I felt that the traditional head covering tended to age me somewhat and I was really attracted to the turban style. Influencers and style icons like Helen Nonini, Ascia, Dina Tokio, Mariah Idrissi, Halima Aden, Shahira and my all-time favourite cook, Nadiya Hussein all contributed to that fixation as they wore it so beautifully.
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My style is more of a millinery shape, like a cap but with two legs to it. Very simple to wear (can be done well within a minute) and very secure without the need of loads of pinning. It has small snap fasteners at the end of each leg as an option, depending on the style you adopt. The alternative is simply to tuck the leg ends in to the existing folds. Living in London and time being of the essence meant I needed that simplicity rather than faff around with tutorials.
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In my LookBook you can see that the wraps look very different stylistically but they are all from the same design and it's only in the final knot or twist that make them appear different. You can be as creative or simple as you want it to be. I have used everything from jersey to organic stretch cotton to a silkier two tone stretch fabric. I would love to know what your favourite fabrics are - just drop me a line in the contact form above…
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Right now I am having samples made in the Far East where thankfully my brother-in-law has a garment making production company. He produces for the likes of Diesel, Caterpillar and Billabong, very high end brands so I am expecting great things. I want to use the best possible stretch fabrics with a high end finish but at the same time I insist on the product being made ethically and sustainably with minimal environmental harm. I am also planning a fabulous branded pin that could really aid someone trying to be extra creative but will also act as a great accessory.
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One of the most important part of my project is giving back to a cause that's really close to my heart. I propose to give 1 head wrap to every 10 sold to cancer patients that are suffering extreme hair loss through treatment. I've always given back and this is an ideal opportunity to do so for a cause that could really use my product.
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