Fatima Ahmed, née Monkush and Nyla Hasan, née Hashmi are the creative founders of Eva Khurshid. The childhood friends started their luxury fashion label in the heart of Manhattan, New York.
Like fashion designer Ameera Hammouda, Ahmed and Hasan filled a gap in women’s fashion. Eva Khurshid designs aim for a combination of attractiveness and modesty.
“The design aesthetic of Eva Khurshid is really refreshing who we are as women,” said Hasan. “Fun, flirty, sexy, but without being provocative, which is a huge thing we found was missing in the market.”
Ahmed and Hasan have showcased their designs on runways including New York’s Lincoln Center.
Eva Khurshid began in New York’s Garment District
The company started by sourcing materials and producing clothes in New York’s Garment District. The fashion duo went local for everything, from trim vendors to pattern makers and factories. The historic neighborhood takes up 24 blocks in the middle of Midtown Manhattan.
“We founded Eva Khurshid in 2008 but we hit stores in August of 2009,” Hasan said. “Our studio is based in Queens but we’re in the garment Garment District almost every day.”
“To be able to support the local economy means a lot, but then on top of that, from a business perspective, it gives us complete control over what it is that we’re producing,” added Ahmed.
In 2011, Eva Khurshid shifted the final stages of clothing production to Los Angeles and China to cut rising costs. In August of the same year, Ahmed and Hasan launched a crowdfund with Kickstarter. The pair planned to pitch their Spring 2012 Forever Bedouin collection to buyers across the United States.
After Eva Khurshid, both women designed for the upscale retailer The Limited in New York. Ahmed was a technical designer for fashion companies ELOQUII and LIKELY before becoming Director of Technical Design at Universal Standard. Hasan is now the founder and creative director of the cultural luxury clothing company the øther.
Fatima Ahmed and Nyla Hasan grew up together
“I’m your classic American Mutt; half Bengali and half American…my mother is Italian, Portuguese, among other things,” Ahmed told Beauty and the Feast.
“Nyla and I grew up together. We both come from pretty conservative Muslim households,” explained Ahmed. “Growing up as Muslims in America, it was really difficult to find clothing that we didn’t have to alter in one way or another.”
In order to fill the gap they saw in American fashion, Ahmed and Hasan started making their own clothing from scratch. Overwhelming positive feedback for their creations soon inspired the women to launch Eva Khurshid.
“We started getting compliments from Muslim friends and from people who weren’t Muslim,” Ahmed said. “We started realizing that there was a real need out there for a lot of women.”
Nyla Hasan went on to earn her BFA from Fashion Institute of Technology in New York in 2007. She studied Fashion Design with a specialization in Knitwear & Art. Meanwhile, Fatima Ahmed earned her BA in Art from Central Connecticut State University in 2006. She specialized in Printmaking and Jewelry Design.
Eva Khurshid offers modest options for fashionable women
“[Eva Khurshid] is inspired by the ever evolving style of strong, confident women. Day to day and at different stages of life, these women know who they are, but that identity is never static,” the designers write.
“We try to look back to the history of where fashion has gone and where it’s going,” Hasan noted. “We have a consistent look to what Eva Khurshid is: very clean and minimal but with interesting, intricate details.”
“Eva Khurshid combines cutting edge fashion design with a new take on empowering women… clothing that exudes style and confidence while leaving some things to the imagination,” the brand states.
