Yahsir Waheed is a fixture in the fashion world and one of the younger founders of what may justly be termed today the Pakistani fashion industry. While, working behind the scenes in some of the most significant ventures in the Pakistani garment industry, Yahsir has been involved in the fashion and garment export industry since 1985.

Having studied textile design at the National College of Arts and Fashion design at Central St Martin’s (UK), and knitwear design from Leicester his first job was as a designer at Ammar Textiles.

Along with designing the Yahsir Waheed Lawn Collection, he also teaches at the Pakistan School of Fashion Design (PSFD). He has been part of the school since its foundation (1994) as a member of the fashion design faculty for 10 years, and more recently as dean.

He is enthusiastic about the designers who inspire him. “Of the fashion designers who I admire the most – at the top of my list is Vivienne Westwood. I admire the way she approaches fashion with a strong sense of history and she takes that reference and transforms it into very modern pieces. Another favorite is Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, I admire the way she treats fashion as art and has been successfully doing it for more than 20 years now. John Galliano is a genius and I consider myself very fortunate when as a student I had the opportunity to interact with him personally, when he came to do a project with us at Central St Martins, in London.”

Yahsir launched his lawn business, called Brimful Designs, in 1998, with a business partner. “I always had this ambition to have a line of printed fabrics,” he says. “We are one of the first independent private designer labels in lawn prints... Looking back, it gives me great pleasure to see that we were able to establish our brand in such a short time.”

Yahsir doesn’t limit his lines to any single theme. He relishes the fact that each print looks different, but is confident that since his personal aesthetic is behind each design, they tie together well. “The label always has its signature style, [which] we like to change subtly every year,” he says.