Fashion in Islamabad and UK
The federal capital city of Pakistan, Islamabad is being characterized by beautiful weather, wide roads, shining sun light, desi Pakistani food and high speed cars on roads. Every citizen enjoys full freedom and can do all sort of work, illegal or legal (About Islamabad, n.d). On the other hand, UK is remarked as a country which offers many opportunities, knowledge; people from diverse nations, high street fashions, brands and many other things (Changing trends in UK, n.d). People enjoy real freedom in this country. Rules are same for each and every individual. People, political parties, channels and newspaper of Islamabad often seemed very unprofessional, mismanaged and apparent.
Fashion is defined as an industry which covers all walks of life. As fashion is changing at a fast pace it has left the women of Islamabad to adjust as per the latest fashion. Islamabad excels in textile and embroidery. Fashion in Islamabad is not confined with the upper class of the society. Maids, shopkeepers and servants also posses good fashion sense. Weddings and parties in Islamabad are being displayed of the hottest trends. The fashion in this country is based on rich fabric and embroidery. The colors combination used in the outfits makes them look very dazzling and gaudy. Islamabad’s fashion is mainly comprised up of salwar kameez, cholis, lehenga and pishwaz. Fashion for men embraces salwar kameez and pathani suits. Many trends can be noticed from the past so many years, which have proved the successfulness of the Pakistani designers (Pakistani culture, 2010).
On the other hand, UK is a western country and mostly people like to wear jeans, full business suits and tee shirts. They also wear special clothes like, overcoats, woolens in cold and wintry weather. People in UK prefer to have comfortable clothes while they are relaxing or partying out (Kwait, 1999). Teenagers like to shop latest and trendy clothes from famous fashion designers. The culture of United Kingdom as a whole is bended towards openness and frankness. This cannot be seen in Islamabad.
RESEARCH AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
This study is being undertaken to have a comparison of fashion between Islamabad and United Kingdom. The contrast will be done in the areas of clothing and lifestyle of people sustaining in both these nations. To accomplish these aims, many other objectives are also set down and some of them are:
- To analyze the lifestyle of people in Islamabad and UK.
- Evaluation of impact of media on fashion and lifestyle.
- To investigate the changing trends of fashion in Islamabad and UK.
- Assessment of the fashion culture posses by both these nations.
LITERATURE REVIEW
This part of the research will depict the hypothetical and conceptual framework related with the topic of the research. The research study will going to discuss about fashion and its trends in Islamabad and UK. A comparison of fashion in both these countries would also be made by the researcher in this section of the project report. The culture of Islamabad is more conservative in contrast with the western countries. However, both these countries are being known for their religious culture. Afar from this resemblance, Islamabad lacks behind with UK in attitude towards women, sports, education, preference and fashion trends. One of the most obvious differences between Islamabad and UK is religion. The population of Islamabad comprises 90% of Muslims, while most of the citizens in UK are Christians (Daily Life in Britain, n.d). As a result of this disparity, fashion and trends of both also differs. In Islamabad, people like to have salwar kameez, suits, pishwaz and cholis. Work of Zari and rich embroidery are often seen in the markets of Islamabad. In contrast with UK, people like to wear comfortable and loose clothes irrespective of any work and Zari. They believe in simplicity. Jeans, tee shirts, skirts, short pants and corporate suits are the most preferred choice of clothing by people residing in UK.
Earlier, Pakistan and its capital city Islamabad are far away from the fever of fashion. Women were ought to follow the traditions and culture defined by their nations. But, gradually fashion industry of Islamabad started booming and has adapted many changes as per the changes in the current market (Sarhandi, n.d). Women and girls stepped in the fields of fashion designing and modeling, which has not been done till so far.
UK on the other hand is UK anyway. Women and teenagers like to put on light colors fabric. Color combinations used in the outfits are not so gaudy and bright, which makes their outfits simple, but dazzling (Gehlhar, 2008). Women of UK are less fashion conscious in comparison with the women in Islamabad. In Islamabad ‘burkhas’ is considered as an important part of clothing for girls or women and therefore, they are made with different kinds of embroidery and work.
When comparing the lifestyle of both the countries, huge variation can be noticed. Number of restaurants offering numerous variety of food i.e. from Thai to Chinese and American to Italian can be found in Islamabad. Handicrafts and carpets stores are mostly found there (Islamabad's first fashion week, n.d). It is regarded as boring and sleepy town but, it also offers a bit of experience, fun, thrill and caution in the areas of camel riding, picnic at UNESCO world heritage sites, air safari, visiting museums and art galleries etc. In contrast, people of UK are fond towards sporting and thrilling activities. It offers many sports such as, paragliding, hot air balloon, horse riding, under water driving, Bungee jumping etc (Iverson, 2010).
Fashion in all countries and people are often influenced by the media. Variety of media is available which impact the choice of clothing and fashion in particular areas. Some of the media’s are television, internet, social media, telemarketing which persuade the ease of fashion in the intellect of teenagers. From the above discussed mode, social media is considered as the most crucial source that impacts the viewpoints of an individual in relation with the fashion. The media used in the fashion industry is known as fashion journalism (Hickman, 1999). Many discussions and shows are displayed on screens, which developed an interest among the teenagers. Thus, they tend to follow and go along with the current trend in the market.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This part of the report would be presenting a theoretical statement that shapes the foundation of the survey of project. It renders support and provides a brief introduction about various strategies and techniques being applied during the process of research. Different research methods put up in the report is defined by this section (Ethridge, 2004). The practical part of the project undertaken is also revealed by research methodology chapter. Many research instruments and philosophy was developed in order to achieve a particular aim as well as for tracking out the solutions for problems in an effective manner (Gibaldi, 2010). Any researcher can come to its conclusion by employing two methods i.e. primary research and secondary research.
-
Primary research – It is defined as that method in which the information is collected for the first time by the researcher from a specific source. It can be both in qualitative and quantitative term. For collecting quantitative information, survey method is used. On the other hand, qualitative information is gathered by conducting interviews and focus group method (Walton, n.d).
-
Secondary research – It is that method in which information is collected from secondary sources such as journals, scholar’s articles and books. This method is more reliable as it is based on facts and figures evaluated from the authorized readings.
Here in this study, secondary research method would be adopted by the researcher for the purpose of collecting information in relations with the topic of the research. In this regards, many books, journals, articles from scholars and authors are explored. Views and ideas can be evaluated from these sources. The secondary source gives an overview of the topic and supports the further proceedings of the research (Gill and Johnson, 2002). This research is Qualitative research. The collected data from various sources will be analyzed by using qualitative research.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND OBSTACLES
It is not feasible for the researcher to collect the data without having prior knowledge and understanding about the research methodology as well as various factors affecting the selection of data collection methods. In order to achieve the research aims and objectives, evaluation of research philosophies, strategies, approaches and designs will also be one by researcher. This will help him to choose a best method for gathering data. A complete understanding of research methodology amplifies the authenticity of the collected data.
Research Philosophy
Understanding the nature and design of the study in an efficient manner, research philosophy will be very helpful for the researcher. There are three different types of philosophies such as positivism, interpretivism and realism. In each and every research study, these philosophies posses their own significance. However in this study, researcher will implement positivism philosophy (Merriam, 2009). This philosophy is more apt in the survey with a large number of samples. This method focus on facts builds up a hypothesis and finally evaluates them.
Research Approaches
The effectiveness of the report is increased by the help of Research approach. After selecting appropriate philosophy for the research, next step is to choose the best approach for the specified issues. This is being done so as to select the optimal data collection method. It is very significant to administer the research methodology process and to give justification of selecting the method of research (Goddard and Melville, 2004). There are two kinds of research approaches, Deductive and inductive. Both these approaches are entirely different from one another. Here, in this study, inductive approach will be used by the researcher as the issue of the research is very specific and there is no need to develop any hypothesis. The issue concerning the research is linked with many factors and does not require any theory. Therefore, inductive approach will be more justified as compare to deductive (Jackson, 2008). Deductive approach lays emphasis on general information for the development of theory and hypothesis.
Research Obstacles
Many obstacles come in the way of accomplishing the research study as it is very critical task. Some of the obstacles are in regards with time and money. Researcher has very limited time for conducting a proper research and in-depth analysis of the issue. Huge money will be required in order to explore a wide range of data and information. Limited availability of time will compel the researcher to take a small number of samples. Researcher will not be able to evaluate a wide range of books, articles and journals in a short period of time, which in turn affect the reliability and consistency of the report. The Findings of the research cannot be generalized as it has been conducted in a confined area or related with the particular topic to conduct. This Report includes thoughts and views of various different authors through literature review which may be contradictory at times. Secondary Data collection method was being used in order to gather data from the various sources. The views of authors can be prejudiced or it may be not relevant to the research.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of above facts and figures, it can be concluded that this research study will going to provide a comparison of fashion between Islamabad and UK. It will also give an extensive overview of the term fashion and its related trends in both these nations. Fashion is defined as the spirit where each and every individual feels comfortable from their mode of clothing and this comfort gets converted in to a personal style. Lifestyle, culture and style of clothing in Islamabad are contrasted with that of UK. It gives a deep knowledge about the current trends in fashion prevailing in both countries. Therefore, further research into this matter will help in drawing an overview of fashion in Islamabad and UK.
REFERENCES
Books, articles and Journals
Blaszczyk, L. R., 2009. Producing Fashion: Commerce, Culture and Consumers. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Ethridge, D., 2004. Research methodology in applied economics: organizing, planning, and conducting economic research. 2nd ed. Wiley-Blackwell.
Gehlhar.M., 2008. The Fashion Designer Survival Guide. Kaplan Publishing.
Gibaldi, J., 2010. Handbook of Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. Modern Language Association of India.
Gill, J., and Johnson, P., 2002. Research Methods for Managers. 3rd ed. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
Goddard, W., and Melville , S., 2004. Research Methodology: An Introduction.2nd ed. Juta and Company Ltd.
Iverson, A., 2010. In Fashion. Crown publishing group.
Jackson, L. S., 2008. Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach. 3rd ed. Cengage Learning.
Lewis, R. B., and Hawksley, W. A., 2003. Gaining a Competitive Advantage in Fashion Retailing. International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, 18(4).
Merriam, B. S., 2009. Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation. 3rd ed. John Wiley & Sons.
Online References
About Islamabad. n.d. [Online]. Available at: <>. [Accessed on 12th Sep 2012].
Alex, R., 2012. An Overview of Global Fashion Industry. [Online]. Available at: <>. [Accessed on 11th Sep 2012].
Changing trends in UK. n.d. [Online]. Available at: <>. [Accessed on 12th Sep 2012].
Daily Life in Britain. n.d. [Online]. Available at: <>. [Accessed on 12th Sep 2012].
Hickman, S., 1999. The Effect of Media on Teens. [Online]. Available at: <>. [Accessed on 12th Sep 2012].
Islamabad's first fashion week. n.d. [Online]. Available at: <>. [Accessed on 12th Sep 2012].
Kwait, D. M., 1999. Differences between Pakistan & the USA. [Online]. Available at: <>. [Accessed on 12th Sep 2012].
Pakistani culture. 2010. [Online]. Available at: <>. [Accessed on 11th Sep 2012].
Sarhandi, N., n.d. Changing trend of fashion in Pakistan. [Online]. Available at: <>. [Accessed on 11th Sep 2012].
Walton, N., n.d. What is Research Ethics. [Online]. Available at: <>. [Accessed on 12th Sep 2012].
by
aakankshamaru (student)
