KARACHI: Krizmah, one of the most exciting names to emerge in the field of handmade bags, recently launched at Ensemble, a high-end multi designer boutique located in both Lahore and Karachi. Both boutiques will now be stocking Krizmah bags permanently.
The word Krizmah describes the plant wild iris in the “khowar” language of Chitral. Chitral is a magical valley in the foothills of the Hindukush Mountains, inhabited by a generous and tolerant people who embrace their simple existence with an innocent happiness expressed in time honoured traditions of creative art, music and dance.
The Krizmah bag label is owned by two Lahore based graphic designers Zainab Ulmulk (a member of the ancient Katur dynasty of Chitral), Nadia Malik and women artisans in Chitral. The purpose behind Krizmah is to produce haute couture hand bags for global followers of fashion.
Quote from Zainab: “I have always been engaged in creative pursuits such as making beautiful pieces of clay pottery or working on graphics. I was drawn to the idea of developing a product out of Chitral because of my linkages with the area, and that’s where the concept of Krizmah emerged from,” said Zainab ulmulk.
Quote from Nadia:
Each Krizmah bag is completely hand stitched by artisans reflecting their hopes and aspirations while echoing their proud heritage. Each bag has a story behind it such as the Joshi bag which talks about the traditional annual spring festival of the Kalash people in the middle of May. It is held to welcome the coming of spring after the severe Chitrali winter. The Hashim Bigim bag is based on the story of the beautiful princess of Gilgit, who is promised in marriage to the crown prince of Chitral. The young woman undergoes an arduous journey to reach her Prince delighting in imagining her future husband.
After conducting a series of exhibitions for Krizmah in Lahore, Islamabad, London and Singapore, Zainab and Nadia felt that they needed a place where they could permanently stock their bags.
“The response to our exhibitions was phenomenal and that was what inspired us to look at a place for permanent stocking and so we chose to go with Ensemble since as a brand house it only caters to high-end products and Krizmah is a high-end product,” said Ulmulk and Malik.
