From parachutes to ships, umbrellas to kites, veggies to trees; the world seems to be a canvas for the popular clothing brand Junaid Jamshed.
Fond of nautical themes and aesthetically draping objects with their patterns of summer lawn, the Soully East brand has developed an exclusive persona with its object-based marketing strategy.
Come to think of it, J. has never employed a female face sprawled on the billboards across the landscapes of Pakistani cities, to tout their exotic and eastern lawn collection.
While lawn is no less than a mighty star-studded business and brands cannot get enough of Kareena, Karisma and Katrina to appear in their designs, J. seems to shy away from using anything more than a mannequin in its campaigns.
Ever wondered why? In an interview with Aurora Magazine, Haider Khan, the group Brand Manager of Junaid Jamshed revealed J.’s vision to be a Shari’ah compliant brand.
“We don’t use see through fabric or make sleeveless tops, short trousers or pants. We have a very basic ideology, as in, we only stock those items which our mothers and sisters can wear”, explains Haider.
This does not come as much of a surprise, with the brand belonging to the pop-star turned preacher, Junaid Jamshed, who always seems eager to keep Islamic zeal alive, not just on television but also in his fashion house.
“We are classy. We are modest, but not conservative. We are hip and fun. We consider ourselves a family brand that caters for every occasion”, tells Khan.
Advertising the “Halal way”, J.’s latest campaign made a splash in the market with its lawn-ified vintage cars.
According to Haider Khan, “When you see vintage cars, you inevitably say ‘wow!’ The concept was to depict class with class. Many people questioned what was eastern about a car, and that too a ‘western’ vintage car. But the only western object we showed was a foreign car and there is nothing non-Shari’ah about an American car.”
Ironically, the critics could not help mocking the strategy. They slammed it as hypocritical for Junaid Jamshed who does not appreciate women behind wheels but did not hesitate to use cars for selling his lawn brand to the ladies.
Just a few months back, J.J got himself caught in the clutches of a controversy for the blasphemy case against a wife of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). While he apologized to the public for his offensive remarks, he was bashed on television and social media alike. The ex-singer has not returned on mass media yet, but the setback has not stopped his brand from growing by leaps and bounds.
“We are always the first to launch a new collection; we launch at least a week before the other main lawn manufacturers. We also bring out collections throughout the year; we have about five collections, with the biggest one bringing in over 200 designs,” discloses Haider Khan.
Nevertheless, all praises for the J. brand with its aversion for objectifying women!
We hope they never run out of objects to decorate with their Soully East fabrics.
