Roma Azmat Of 'Arora By Roma' On Her Aesthetic, The Market For Children's Clothing And How Fashion Chose Her

 How has the global pandemic and this crazy year impacted your brand?

I found myself impregnable during whole period. I stood strong and kept my eyes on the positivity and that how can I add more colors in a world that was being colorless at that time. I felt having a strong connection with Allah SWT so I didn’t fall down. I rather found myself more focused on my work with a positive mind approach. Sales started getting better for me because people got more attracted to online retailing. I must say that online shopping might have been a relief to some and convenience for many. So global pandemic didn’t affect me at all.



What is Arora’s aesthetic? Do you specialize in Eastern? Or Western? Or both?

Well I’d call myself a trendsetter. I don’t like couture and I don’t do couture. I have never studied about eastern fashion, I rather fancy western fashion. I’ve got my degree from Italy, so basically, I’ve studied every tiny detail about western fashion e.g. western trends, colors, western cuts and prints. So, I’ve always envisioned western fashion. That’s my signature working style that I’ve brought western side of fashion into eastern wear/ Ethnic wear. I create western prints and cuts and merge them into eastern wear.

While designing a collection what do you keep in mind? What do you focus on?

While designing a new collection I always keep trends and colors in my mind. Apart from that I keep my target audience in my mind. I value my customers pretty much, so I always care about what my customer would want to wear, what excites their spirits, what can they afford easily and what style would they like to see in their wardrobe. I think likewise while creating my prints for every collection. I also try my best to keep a direct connection with my audience. I always prefer to get their feedback. So, all of these aspects help me while styling or designing a collection. This somehow brings me peace of mind that I’m delivering my people exactly what they expect me to.





What fashion advice would you give to young people who are figuring out their own personal style?

I would advise them to be who you want to be rather than copying someone or listening to people’s opinion about how you need to dress up. This is real dilemma of the society that youngsters are allowed to dress up in a manner the society wants them into. I believe if you would like to express yourself through the way you dress up, it would also give you confidence and of course the same advice will be followed for the young struggling designers. I’d suggest to stand tall on the ground for what inspires them.

We’ve noticed you’ve also dealt into the market for kids fashion, what piqued your interest in that?

When I started off with ABR (Arora by Roma) right after my degree, I think I was very immature myself and it is the kid in me that I sometimes see in ABR. As a child I was always fascinated by vibrant colors, glitters, shimmers and sparkles. So that has always piqued my interest in making kids collection. And soon after realizing that Eastern world has always lacked to provide this altogether to eastern kids so I thought to take initiative and blow my customers with something exciting, that’s when I launched ABR Junior.





What is your unique selling point that differentiates you from other brands?

My unique selling point is that I’m the only designer in Pakistan who introduced mother and daughter twinning clothing. Apart from that I also launched 3D hand embellished digital printed off-beat ready to wear and unstitched attire for young women. Every single piece is handmade by myself with assistance of my labors. Every shirt is made with the handwork of average 2-3 hours. I use my personal efforts in every single step of creating a collection. From creating a print to getting the shirt stitched and then the embellishment. I make sure to get the best out for my client. That’s my way of pampering my customer. Besides, I’m also working in digital printed wear which includes linen, lawn and kids wear.

What inspired you to start Arora by Roma?

I was a fashionista since I was a kid. I was very observant about how other girls of my age would dress up, I always watched very closely to the cuts, colors and every tiny detail of their outfit. I believe that’s what have always been pushing me to what I happen to become today. I can still remember that I was in grade 5 when I designed my very first outfit. Later I designed a wedding dress for one of my cousins which became really famous after that. I figured everyone copied it afterwards so I would consider that my specific moment which lead me into this direction later in life. I’d rather say I didn’t choose fashion; Fashion chose me.



What other experience do you have other than online retailing?

I did costume designing for a lot of premiers, which includes international movie premiers and Pakistani movie premiers. Apart from that I’m currently doing social media marketing for my dad’s university. I’m also board of trustee for my dad’s university.

What do you do in your leisure time?

I fancy outdoor sports. I love to workout because my physical health is as important to me as my mental health. My biggest priority is to spend quality time with my family at my leisure time. Besides, I adore my dogs and I love being around them.