In August 2018, Sapphire, the high-end prêt brand, and their agency MCS Communications garnered praise when their popular seed bag was introduced. (It was also featured in Aurora’s ‘A few of our favourite things’.) Following on its success, they recently launched their ‘Eyes of the beholder’ campaign, which entailed their popular yellow kurti to be worn by five women who are not from Pakistan and based in Australia, the UK and the US; their photographs were then shared on Sapphire’s Facebook and Instagram handles for three weeks.

Muzaffar Manghi, CEO, MCS, says that one of the objectives of the campaign was to demonstrate the versatility of Sapphire’s prêt line, and to showcase the fact that although their designs are eastern in origin, they can be worn by “progressive” women around the world, irrespective of where they are from.

According to Manghi: “The photographers were chosen because they were all young, upcoming names; each one of them has a unique style, and that helped us achieve variety. As for the locations and models, they were not a demand from our side. In fact, our brief was rather basic: make sure that cultural sensitivities are adhered to, and do as you like.”

The location and models were therefore chosen at the discretion of the photographers: Pooja Dhar (New York), Lucio Gelsi (New York), Megan Kellythorn (London), Annemarie Sterian (London) and Jasmina Zuccarelli (Melbourne). He adds that the photographs were not treated and that the photographers showcased their individual interpretations of beauty, and in the process, highlighted the fact that “beauty does lie in the eye of the beholder.”

The campaign was directed towards “progressive 20-something women, who have big ambitions” and the reason why they chose to highlight the yellow kurti was because it is “simple, inexpensive and cheerful”. The response was promising, and although the campaign’s objectives did not include generating sales, the yellow kurti was “pretty much sold out on the first day”.

Manghi adds: “We wanted our consumers to see that fashion can be honest, without being grimy or dark or sad. Judging by people’s responses on the campaign, I think we got that message across.”