The Croquis Guru

The Croquis Guru

Published in 'Images' [Dawn]

July 29th 2007

By Fariha Rashed
Bilal Ashraf walks confidently through the door breaking into a warm smile as he greets me. He may be a man of short stature but his impeccable talent as a fashion illustrator renders him the tallest man alive in my eyes. I am meeting him after many years, but I remember vividly that at fashion school everyone used to envy and look up to Bilal. His fashion illustrations were by far the best in the entire school. His croquis [fashion illustrations] were always intense and flawless. He was a maestro in his field. So what has the man accomplished thus far? Well to start with, while at Pakistan School of Fashion Design, Bilal won third prize in an international fashion competition held in Belgium. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. He has gone on to accomplish much more. I see a maturity in Bilal, both with regard to his work and his demeanor that I feel must have come with extensive experience and living abroad. When talking about his work Bilal has a fire in his eyes I have rarely seen before. Passion for what he does spills over like sizzling larva all through my conversation with him. His firm hand gestures and unconscious throwing in of Arabic words here and there prove that living in Egypt for the past so many years has had a lasting influence on him. Through the course of my interview with him I found out that he is very well versed in his field. He as an artist is more then willing to impart knowledge to others and is on a constant quest for learning.

Bilal, how did you end up in Egypt?

I had no special plans to go to Cairo. I had graduated from Pakistan School of Fashion Design [PSFD] in 1999 and eventually joined the Crescent Group in Pakistan. I was offered a chance to become Brand Manager Levis for the Asia-Pacific Division and at the same time I was also offered to teach at Institute Technique de la Mode [ITM] in Cairo. The offer from Cairo came as a result of my good friend Irfan Cheema who had already been teaching there. After great contemplation I decided to go to Egypt in 2002 and I began teaching four subjects at ITM – Fashion Design, Textile Design, Accessory Design, and History of Costume. I started off teaching only Fashion Design to three batches and my students went to the principal the second day and asked that I should teach them more subjects. The main reason for my choice to leave Pakistan and move abroad was that I was bored after spending two years in the industry here. With the Crescent Group I was doing work related to garments but it was related to hard core manufacturing and had no creativity to it.

Did you face any problems teaching in a foreign land and how have you found the country so far?

It is known as the African Republic of Egypt and this country has great history. It was ruled by the French, the Ferons and then Islam. Therefore Egypt is extremely cross-cultural and it people’s features are also unique. A lot of students know French, English and German. I am teaching design oriented subjects so I do not find any communication problems with my students. My subjects are about expression of feelings more then anything else. Egyptians by nature are humble people and their thriving tourism allows them to deal very well with foreigners.

Why do you think Pakistani fashion brands are stagnant and lack branding?

For branding everything from the logo, marketing campaign, to the models used matters. A brand has to research, innovate and invent. I think Teejays is the only revolutionary brand that ever existed in Pakistan. The label played with the shalwar kameez and made it a status symbol. It broke the rules and catered to the masses. No one is doing this now. The only setback for Teejays was that it did not move with the times. Fashion is about change which is the only constant. Egypt is also a Muslim country but they dress in a Western/European style as well. They wear white gowns in their weddings and black suits in their funerals. Pakistan needs to progress with regard to new styles of dressing as well.

You started your own business in Cairo. Can you tell us a little about that?

My student Sara and I set up our own business last year. This June, we established our brand [atelier] in Cairo. We offer formals, casuals and exclusive attire with our own prints on it. Fashion, art and design are brought together under one roof by us. Sara and I are not bound by the limitations of the industry. We also have the best printers, Mario Printers, working with us. Initially they were not agreeing to print only 300 pieces for us as that is no quantity for them. However, once the owner saw our work he opened his arms to us. Sara and I named our label BSAR’AI, ‘B’ standing for Bilal of course. The reason why I started my business in Egypt and not Pakistan is because in Pakistan you can’t innovate much with the shalwar kameez. All you can do is play around with the neckline or the embellishments on the kameez. In Egypt I am getting a chance to apply all kinds of innovation to my work. I can easily play around with cuts and I have a very educated team, which largely consists of my own students. Also, I have an exceptional partner. Sara belongs to a family that owns a very large group called the Riyad Group in Egypt. This group deals in fabrication, knitwear exports etc. However, Sara wanted to follow her own dreams instead of joining her family business. She and I compliment each other completely. Our design sense and philosophy are the same. We do of course face some conflict between us at times, but I feel that is healthy. I scribble the signature of our company on all my fashion illustrations as I believe everything we do should be as a team.

How has Egypt responded to your fashion illustrations and your fashion designing?

Egypt on the whole has not been exposed to fashion illustrations much. I received a lot of compliments for my illustrations, and the most encouraging comment I got about my work was from people who said “we see ourselves in it”. Dressing has been around from the time of Adam. I believe strongly that you “wear what you are”. One must always be comfortable in what one wears. Your dressing should make you feel confident. It protects you and lets you portray yourself to the world the way you want. Illustration is also a strong form of art and it entails function, aesthetics and design sense. Art representing fashion creates style, mood and attitude. One should be able to tell the time period the illustration is set in, just by looking at it. I don’t believe that fashion and art can be separated so why not combine it with the industry as well? In Pakistan the problem is that industrialists don’t care about the designer. Take a look at United Colors of Benetton for example. They have a strong message of unity for mankind which is represented through the unity of colors. This is a good philosophy. In the same way, Gucci has sleek models, and Versace has broad models. All brands have some element which stays constant and is representative of their brand. In Pakistan there is no such sense of similarity in designing with regard to labels and brands. I think Nilofer Shahid is the only one who has a strong sense of identity. When I worked with her right after graduation, I learnt a lot. I learnt foremost to be a designer with a distinct and clear philosophy.


Are you satisfied with everything that you are currently doing?

I’m teaching, I have my own label, I’m doing my fashion illustrations – I have everything. Yes, I am very satisfied and if I stop doing even one of these things I will lose a part of myself. All aspects compliment each other.

Who are your inspirations and who do you feel you have learnt the most from in life?

Marisse who taught us pattern making and draping at fashion school is the reason why I am what I am today. She was a turning point in my life. Rashid Rana, my drawing teacher at PSFD taught me a lot too. However, learning can’t come from teachers alone. It comes from students also. I believe it is a give and take relationship. I have also learnt a lot from my partner Sara. She brings out the best in me and is one of my main sources of inspiration. We are a team and I need her input in everything. I believe people like Asif Haq, Imran Muzaffar and Ghulam Moiuddin from PSFD can truly make a difference in Pakistan. They all have a unique way of working. I also learnt a lot from Kaleem Khan and Hamid Baloch who taught me how to draw in Quetta at the Foundation of Anatomy. With regards to international renowned illustrators, Antonio Lopez who is one of the best illustrators of the world and David Downton have inspired me a lot. I think a mixture of knowledge, awareness, exposure and education are the essential ingredients for any success story, and I am lucky enough to have all of them. For me, seeing is learning, so everything I see is an inspiration. I learn from nature and nurture [culture]. I pick things from different people, store them, and utilize them best by inculcating them with my own taste.

You recently held your first fashion illustration exhibition in Cairo. Tell us a little about it, how you prepared your pieces and what kind of a reaction you received for it.

I intentionally used a lack of color in my first exhibition. I was inspired by the Chinese way of using solid black ink. It takes you in and is a very strong medium. My stroke on the paper has to be my last stroke because with ink, there is no room for correction once you make a mistake. This concept really excites me. Although it is not a very neat medium, the artist has to have a lot of control to manage it. I believe there is a strong link between being genius and mad. I also believe one should allow oneself to make mistakes as this let’s artists in particular, come out of the box and find out what they are capable of. As Picasso said, “be fearless like a child”. What he meant by this was that child’s art is fearless, bold, energetic and colorful. The child does not hold back. An artist should be fearless like a child yet controlled in his craft. I can find myself with one million chances for making a mistake while using ink. I use the same brush throughout to give strokes and therefore my brushes finish after one painting. I invent constantly while I work, challenging myself and opening doors for learning. My decisions are very quick while I paint and I find that to be the fun part of it. It was a challenge to show the feel of clothes, hair and shoes etc while using just one color. Also, with this exhibition, I did not make an intentional effort to make asymmetrical lines. This exhibition was about energy executed through intense lines and bold strokes. Fashion was transformed into illustration through this exhibition. For me, the urge to portray style, mood and attitude gave birth to an art form that has been a mode of visual expression for many exceptional individuals.

The exhibition had 30 pieces in all and I made each piece in four hours. It took me five months all together to complete them. The exhibition was inaugurated on 12th may 2007 at Sakiat-El-Sawy, situated in the heart of Cairo. This location is a very famous cultural centre in Cairo. There is something exciting happening to promote youngsters there every night. I had the good luck of acquiring a lot of big sponsors such as Mobinil [equivalent to Mobilink] and the Arab African Bank etc for my show, which went on for nine days. O Tv, a new Egyptian satellite channel by Orascom, covered the event and recorded me live at my college while I gave a demonstration to my students. Through this exhibition I wanted Egyptians to get exposed to new forms of art and fashion. As a rule, people have to be introduced to a product before they put their hands on it, which is what I planned to do through my exhibition. I sold them a philosophy which encouraged them to find out what fashion illustrations are. Once the exhibition ended I got good feedback. I was offered to do illustrations for a children’s book, designers wanted me to teach them fashion illustration, and Sakiat-El-Sawy wanted me to hold workshops at their venue.

How would you describe your own work?

Fashion is for your own self. If it’s in you, then it’s good. Whatever I do for a living is exactly how I want to live. Personally I don’t like images in which I feel the model is trying too hard. A certain feel should emanate from my illustrations. I do portray dramatic postures at times but the models have distinct expressions in their eyes.

The rest of your siblings are also artists. Why do you think all three of you pursued this particular field?

Our nana was a tailor but none of our family members were artists. Me elder brother Jawad is a photographer, and my younger brother is also doing fashion. I guess it was just meant to be!

What does the future hold for Bilal Ashraf?

I want to learn, learn and learn some more! I believe designers and industrialists need to know each other and I will strive to make that happen. Designers have to be exposed to art, and do not necessarily need to be technically educated. R&D departments are making new developments around the world; those developments are then taken to designers who use them in their collections. Subsequently famous models wear the clothes and media critics at the show give the collections coverage. Next, celebrities wear the same designs and a demand for them is triggered by the masses. Orders go back out to the industry for cost effective clothes to be made. It is a cycle that Pakistan needs to fast adopt. I plan to do whatever I can to make it happen.

Bilal, after literally hanging off the edge of his chair for an hour, sinks back and relaxes in his seat as the interview comes to an end. Taking a closer look at his work I realize that Bilal’s fashion illustrations are wild and controlled all at the same time. He has a firm grip on the medium. His strokes are both fierce and light in the right places but every piece speaks out on an individual level. The pieces look just as good up close as they do from afar. Every stroke of ink has a different emotion behind it and it almost feels like the ink is dancing across the canvas having a life of its own. There is an air of perfection in Bilal’s work. One would have to struggle very hard and long to find any mistakes whatsoever.