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Meaghan Tobin

Pakistani fashion designer Rizwan Beyg, who dressed Princess Diana during her visit to the South Asian country in 1996, prides himself on connecting disappearing craft traditions with the global fashion industry.
In his 30-year career, he has sought out opulent embroidery and textile techniques specific to Pakistan for his designs, rather than making fast fashion.
“The world has moved away from looking at humans as a resource, instead we look at factories and industry,” Beyg told This Week in Asia.
He was in Hong Kong on Friday to showcase his latest collection at an event organised by Pakistan’s consulate in the city.

Beyg, who trained as an architect, took up fashion design at the behest of a friend and soon became a favourite of Pakistan’s fashion elite.
The country “was ripe for a fashion revolution” when he started designing clothes in November 1989, he said.
His luxury pieces have been worn by some of the world’s wealthiest celebrities and royalty, including Pakistani entertainment stars Mahira Khan and Hareem Farooq.
Jemima Khan, then-wife of Pakistan’s current Prime Minister Imran Khan, gave him a call in 1996 asking if he could design a custom look for an anonymous VIP.
“I had an idea it was Diana,” said Beyg, who expected she might be visiting Pakistan to attend a fundraiser at the Shaukat Khanum hospital. Khan gave him Diana’s measurements and Beyg did his homework, studying her fashion choices to craft a unique look.
“It had to be fusion,” said Beyg, fitting her “unconventional sensibilities”. Diana was known for taking fashion risks, even though she carried the scrutiny that came with royal life. 
He made her a sherwani, a garment often worn by men. It was in a feminine ivory colour and embroidered with pearls. He chose a western embroidery motif to pair with the traditional silhouette. The embroidery on the outfit, done in five shades of white, took three and a half weeks.
Beyg was surprised to have the chance to deliver the outfit to Diana himself, just after her arrival in the country. But when he asked if they could take a photograph together to commemorate the meeting, he realised he had forgotten to bring his camera along.
Diana suggested he go back home to get it. When he returned, she was trying on the outfit.
“You can’t take this picture without me wearing your outfit,” he recalled her saying. “It was such a human thing, for her to empathise with me like that.”

Just a few months later, Diana wore his creation again in the UK. “She wore it to an event that night on the day she signed the divorce papers with Charles, and that’s when it really hit the mainstream,” said Beyg.
“I think it was a political choice to wear it on that day,” he said. “She was quite rebellious, and there were all those rumours about her personal life and her relationships with people in Pakistan.”
Why are Will and Kate praised for local dress, when Trudeau was mocked?
Visiting dignitaries tend to play it safe when it comes to adopting Pakistani styles of dress, said Beyg.
“You have to be respectful – not conservative, but respectful. But it shouldn’t come off as costume.”
When asked how the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, had done on her recent visit to Pakistan, Beyg said her sartorial choices won her a lot of fans in the country, but he found them to be “a bit of a mishmash – culturally appropriate, but maybe not aesthetically”.

Though embroidery is having a resurgence in Europe, glorified in spring 2020 collections by the likes of Maria Grazia Chiuri at Christian Dior, it has been a trademark of the Beyg label for decades. His creations, mostly formal evening wear and bridal wear, are designed to be heirloom pieces, retailing from US$100 to upwards of US$5,000.
In 2014 Beyg established the Bunyaad project, which means support or foundation in Urdu, to revive needle and threadwork craft communities in Pakistan. He has since partnered with the US aid agency USAID as well as the United Nations Development Programme.

When he started the project, he expected women employed by the programme might use the new source of income to buy televisions or washing machines for their homes. Instead, they saved the money to pay for their daughters to go to school, Beyg said.
By sixth grade, 59 per cent of girls in Pakistan no longer attend school, according to advocacy organisation Human Rights Watch.
“This is change at the basic, fundamental level,” said Beyg.












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Bunyaad - the foundations of the Rizwan Beyg label. Capacity building, female empowerment and income generation. Excellence in design and craft #rizwanbeyg #FemaleEmpowerment #CraftRevival #SocialDevelopment #hautecouture #eveningwear #craftsmanship #rizwanbeygformals #formalwear #rizwanbeygheirloom #ruraltotherunway
A post shared by Rizwan Beyg (@rizwanbeyg) on Jan 26, 2019 at 8:23am PST



Since 2018, Beyg has taken part in the Artisan Skills Exchange Programme with the Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council founded by the ruling family of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The programme brings embroiderers from rural Pakistan to share their skills with women in the UAE in an “advanced embroidery masterclass”.
“It’s a drop in the ocean, but I would like to think it’s not just another boardroom conversation about what the world needs,” said Beyg. “We are actually out here integrating with the fabric of society.”
In March Beyg will be awarded Pakistan’s highest civilian honour for contributions to the betterment of Pakistan, the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz. 
In photos: Prince William and Kate’s first royal trip to Pakistan
While in Hong Kong he attended the annual gala of American educational non-profit organisation Developments in Literacy, which operates more than 120 school campuses in Pakistan.
He has visited Hong Kong many times before, and said the city had not changed as dramatically as he might have expected in light of the ongoing anti-government protests.
“I also come from Pakistan, which has its own problems,” said Beyg. “At the end of the day, I think life goes on for everybody.”


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Pakistan

Pakistani designer who dressed Princess Diana on his ‘fashion revolution’ and what Kate Middleton wore on her royal tour

Pakistani designer Rizwan Beyg showcases a collection in Hong Kong on October 18. Photo: Handout

(FILES) This file photo taken on February 21, 1996 shows Britain's Diana, Princess of Wales (L) arriving at a restaruant for dinner with Jemima Khan (R), the British wife of former Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan, in Lahore. Princess Diana revolutionised the royal dress code with the help of some of the world's greatest designers during a glamorous life that came to a tragic end on August 31, 1997, 20 years ago this month. / AFP PHOTO / SAEED KHAN

Pakistani designer Rizwan Beyg (L) with Pakistani Consul General in Hong Kong Abdul Qadir Memon.

TOPSHOT - Britain's Prince William (L), Duke of Cambridge and his wife Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visit the historical Badshahi mosque in Lahore on October 17, 2019. (Photo by AAMIR QURESHI / AFP)

Diana wearing fashion designer Rizwan Beyg's dress in Pakistan in 1996. Photo: Instagram

Diana wearing fashion designer Rizwan Beyg's dress in 1996. Photo: Handout

Why are Prince William and Kate Middleton praised for Pakistani outfits, when Trudeau’s turban was mocked in India?

Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton visit the Bumburate Valley in Pakistan. The pair have been praised for cultural sensitivity in their choice of attire. Photo: AFP

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan (L) walks with Britain's Prince William (R), Duke of Cambridge, and his wife Catherine (C), Duchess of Cambridge, at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad on October 15, 2019. - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan gave a warm welcome in Islamabad on October 15 to Britain's Prince William, the son of his late friend Princess Diana, who is on his first official trip to the country with his wife Kate. (Photo by STR / AFP)

In this photograph released by the Amritsar District Public Relations Officer on February 21, 2018, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (2R), his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau (L), daughter Ella-Grace (2L) and son Xavier prepare chappati for a communal vegetarian meal known as 'langar' at a community kitchen at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. / AFP PHOTO / Amritsar District Public Relations Officer / Handout / -----EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / DPRO " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) along with his wife Sophie Gregoire (L) pay their respects at the SSikh Golden Temple in Amritsar on February 21, 2018. Trudeau and his family are on a week-long official trip to India. / AFP PHOTO / NARINDER NANU

In this handout photograph taken and released by the Pakistan Foreign Ministry on October 14, 2019, Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridgea (R) and his wife Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge arrive at the Pakistan's Nur Khan military airbase in Rawalpindi. - Prince William and his wife Kate arrived in Pakistan for their "most complex" tour to date, with Islamabad eager to tout improved security after years of violent militancy. (Photo by - / Pakistan Foreign Ministry / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO /PAKISTAN FOREIGN MINISTRY " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Britain's Prince William (R), Duke of Cambridge, and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, arrive on a decorated auto-rickshaw to attend a reception in Islamabad on October 15, 2019. - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan gave a warm welcome in Islamabad on October 15 to Britain's Prince William, the son of his late friend Princess Diana, who is on his first official trip to the country with his wife Kate. (Photo by Aamir QURESHI / AFP)

Britain's Prince William (R), Duke of Cambridge and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, watch a traditional Kalash dance during their visit to the Bumburate Valley in Pakistan northern Chitral District on October 16, 2019. - Prince William and his wife Kate flew near the Afghan border to visit a remote Hindu Kush glacier on October 16, after a morning spent trying on feathered traditional caps and luxurious shawls in Pakistan's mountainous north. (Photo by FAROOQ NAEEM / AFP)

In photos: Prince William and Kate Middleton’s first royal trip to Pakistan

The Duchess and Duke of Cambridge wear a head dress and hat bestowed on them by members of the Kalash tribe in Chitral, Pakistan. Photo: EPA-EFE

14 October 2019, Pakistan, Islamabad: Prince William (R), Duke of Cambridge, and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge arrive at the Pakistani Air Force Base Nur Khan on day one of the royal visit to Pakistan. Photo: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire/dpa

epa07928169 Britain's Prince William, Duke Duchess of Cambridge (C) and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (L) meet with cancer patient Wafia Rehmani, 7, at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, 17 October 2019. The British royal couple visited the children's ward and spent time with patients undergoing treatment at the hospital. The royals is on an official five-day visit to Pakistan. EPA-EFE/ARTHUR EDWARDS / POOL

epa07922028 Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (L-R) meets with the President of Pakistan Arif Alvi and his wife Samina Alvi standing next to Catherine, Duches of Cambridge at the Presidential Palace in Islamabad, Pakistan, 15 October 2019. The British royal couple is on an official five-day visit to Pakistan. It is the first royal visit to the country in 13 years. EPA-EFE/Arthur Edwards / POOL

epa07927221 Britain's Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (L) and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visit Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan, 17 October 2019. The royal couple is on an official five-day visit to Pakistan. EPA-EFE/OWEN HUMPHREYS / POOL

epa07922299 Britain's Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visit The Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan in central in Islamabad Pakistan, 15 October 2019. The royal couple is on an official five-day visit to Pakistan. It is the first royal visit to the country in 13 years. EPA-EFE/ANDREW PARSONS / POOL

epa07925307 Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (C) wears traditional Pakistani headwear as she visits a settlement of the Kalash people to learn more about their culture and heritage in Chitral, Pakistan, 16 October 2019. The royal couple is on an official five-day visit to Pakistan. It is the first royal visit to the country in 13 years. EPA-EFE/SAMIR HUSSEIN / POOL

epa07924223 Prince William (L), Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge are welcomed as they arrive by helicopter in Chitral, Pakistan, 16 October 2019. The royal couple is on an official five-day visit to Pakistan. It is the first royal visit to the country in 13 years. EPA-EFE/SAMIR HUSSEIN / POOL

epa07924764 Britain's William (L) and Catherine (C), Duke and Duchess of Cambridge speak with glacial expert Dr. Furrikh Bashir (R) as they visit the Chiatibo glacier in the Hindu Kush mountain range in the Chitral District of Khyber-Pakhunkwa Province in Pakistan, 16 Octo​ber, 2019. They spoke with a an expert about how climate change is impacting glacial landscapes. The Cambridge's are engaging in a royal tour of Pakistan from 14 - 18 October 2019. EPA-EFE/NEIL HALL / POOL

epa07921728 Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge arrives at an engagement at Islamabad Model College for Girls in Islamabad Pakistan, 15 October 2019. The royal couple is on an official five-day visit to Pakistan. It is the first royal visit to the country in 13 years. EPA-EFE/IAN VOGLER / POOL

epa07921806 Britain's Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge arrive for a visit to the Margalla Hills in Islamabad Pakistan, 15 October 2019. The royal couple is on an official five-day visit to Pakistan. It is the first royal visit to the country in 13 years. EPA-EFE/OWEN HUMPHREYS / POOL

epa07930101 Britain's Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge wave as they depart from Islamabad airport in Islamabad in Pakistan, 18 October 2019. The royal couple is on an official five-day visit to Pakistan. It is the first royal visit to the country in 13 years. EPA-EFE/IAN VOGLER / POOL

epa07921730 Britain's Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge arrives at an engagement at Islamabad Model College for Girls in Islamabad Pakistan, 15 October 2019. The royal couple is on an official five-day visit to Pakistan. It is the first royal visit to the country in 13 years. EPA-EFE/IAN VOGLER / POOL

epa07924858 William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge visit a settlement of the Kalash people, to learn more about their culture and unique heritage, on October 16, 2019 in Chitral, Pakistan, 16 October 2019. The royal couple is on an official five-day visit to Pakistan. It is the first royal visit to the country in 13 years. EPA-EFE/SAMIR HUSSEIN / POOL

epa07922807 Britain's Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (C) arrives by Tuk Tuk with her husband Prince William, Duke of Cambridge (R), to attend a special reception hosted by the British High Commissioner at the Pakistan National Monument in Islamabad, Pakistan, 15 October 2019. The royal couple is on an official five-day visit to Pakistan. It is the first royal visit to the country in 13 years. EPA-EFE/CHRIS JACKSON / POOL

British royal couple William and Kate arrive in Pakistan for ‘complex’ visit amid tight security

Prince William and his wife Kate arrived at Nur Khan base in Islamabad. Photo: AP

Britain's Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visit the Aga Khan Centre, in London, Wednesday Oct. 2, 2019. (Jeff Spicer/Pool via AP)

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Fashion designer Rizwan Beyg has designed clothes for some of the world’s wealthiest celebrities and royalty, including the late Diana, Princess of Wales
He also started a project to revive needle and threadwork in Pakistan, ‘integrating with the fabric of society’


The Pakistani designer has made clothes for some of the world’s wealthiest celebrities and royalty, including Princess Diana. But he is also behind a project to revive disappearing craft traditions like needle and threadwork.


Fashion

Royalty

Princess Diana

Pakistani designer who dressed Princess Diana on his ‘fashion revolution’ and what Kate Middleton wore on her royal tour

Fashion designer Rizwan Beyg has designed clothes for some of the world’s wealthiest celebrities and royalty, including the late Diana, Princess of Wales He also started a project to revive needle and threadwork in Pakistan, ‘integrating with the fabric of society’

Fashion designer Rizwan Beyg has designed clothes for some of the world’s wealthiest celebrities and royalty, including the late Diana, Princess of Wales

He also started a project to revive needle and threadwork in Pakistan, ‘integrating with the fabric of society’