Rastah is a Pakistani streetwear label that works to celebrate Pakistani culture in a sustainable way. Recently the brand is set to launch a new collection, ‘INTERMISSION III’ which aims to counter censorship with fashion. The collection ranges from the artistically-printed bomber and denim jackets to block-printed sweatpants. However, many on Twitter have criticized the brand’s choice of pricing.
I'm actually curious about the consumer market thats buying a 1lac+ jacket, with most of the stuff out of stock? clothes made from upcycled "duBattas" for 96k?
Are the "partner artisans" getting paid proportionally?getting the big bucks the exploitation from their work brings in? pic.twitter.com/JtjzKBNnTl— beezus (@blurmynamepls) February 2, 2021
Many also point out the elitism some of the designs depict
the "KARIGAR" striped pyjama? handwoven button down? wtf?
"Inspired by the grease and grit of historical workwear.." WTF?
Is this for real? You're selling clothes INSPIRED by the below minimum wage, heavily exploited working class of Pakistan for 26 thousand? pic.twitter.com/L1vqGKC7gw
— beezus (@blurmynamepls) February 2, 2021
Fans of the brand quickly came to the defense. Including renowned stylists like Haiya Bokhari
if you researched about the company, you would realize that they pay their artisans and all the people working in the back end handsomely, I've been following their journey since day 1 and the target audience for the are mainly people abroad who are into fashion and can afford it
— JJ | | abdul (@needmoreJJ) February 2, 2021
Will take Rastah critique seriously when all the peeps critiquing it stop buying high street brands & fast fashion bec woh toh bilkul left ki politics k mutabiq apna business chalatay hain na. We just gotta shit on everything and then wonder why people don't innovate/invest here
— Haiya Bokhari (@haiyabokhari) February 2, 2021
The Co-founder and Creative Director, Zain Ahmad addressed people’s concern about the prices
Rastah could be making a lot more money by reducing its retail price point.The VERY reason we haven’t decided to go down that route is because it would drastically disenfranchise our artisans. For context, we pay A LOT more to the artisans than what other local brands retail for.
— Zain Ahmad (@zainoo_95) February 2, 2021
For context, an artisan on average gets around 30% of the profit OUTSIDE of bonuses and cost of goods which are covered by us. There’s a reason why they continue to work with us despite getting offers from various brands which aren’t able to compensate them financially that way.
— Zain Ahmad (@zainoo_95) February 2, 2021