Ali Xeeshan responds to criticism on ‘anti-dowry’ bridal campaign

Ali Xeeshan’s latest collection ‘Numaish,’ which debuted at the Hum Bridal Couture Week 2021 last week, has created a bit of a storm on social media. The collection, aimed to highlight the burdening culture of dowry in our society, was designed in collaboration with UN Women Pakistan.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ali Xeeshan (@alixeeshantheaterstudio)

While the campaign was well-intended, the designer received backlash on social media, with people criticising Xeeshan for the cost of his outfits and referring to Ali’s campaign as an act of hypocrisy.

Responding to the criticism, Xeeshan said: “When I was developing it [the campaign], I was only looking into girls’ struggle but later I realised that dowry pressurises the parents more.”

“I remember last year a client’s wedding was called off because one of the demands from groom side was to have a gold-plated shaving kit,” shared Xeeshan.

He continued: “Many people say that you make expensive outfits, then why are you talking about this? These two are very different things – that [designing outfits] is my business and no one is compelled [to buy them].”

“If you can afford my clothes please be my guests and if you can’t then don’t put yourself under the pressure,” added Xeeshan.

The designer concluded by saying, “Agar meray say koi poochay keh mere kapray khareeday ya beti ko education de, toh beti ko education day dein. Mein kapray baich loon ga.”