2017 marks Hassan Sheheryar Yasin completing 23 years in the Pakistani fashion industry. Hassan – or HSY as he is popularly known – began his career as a fashion choreographer, producing many shows, including the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Weeks beginning in February 2010. He is also one of the founding members of the Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC).
Hassan holds an honors degree in Couture and was the salutatorian at the Pakistan School of Fashion Design (now PIFD – class of 2000), an affiliate of La Chambre Syndicale De La Couture Parisienne, France, where he serves on the Board of Directors. In 2000, Hassan – who was hailed as the ‘New King of Couture’ by Harper’s Bazaar (Arabia) – launched his own fashion label, HSY. Starting as a bridal and formal wear couture house, HSY has become one of Pakistan’s most recognized fashion labels and employs over 350 people and has six international stores with the flagship housed in Lahore. The label has several lines, including HSY Wedding, HSY Couture, HSY Ready-to-Wear, HSY Homme, HSY Private Collection and HSY Noir. In 2007, Hassan introduced a jewellery line under the HSY Brand and is looking into developing a luxury home furnishing line.
Says Hassan of his label:
“The design philosophy at HSY is to combine contemporary silhouettes with traditional techniques, making it appealing to an international clientele who have an appreciation for the grandeur and extravagance of a regal past but expect further innovation and creativity. At HSY we want to be the center of timeless classic couture you can wear now and maybe you can take out 20 years later and it will still be relevant.”
Hassan is the recipient of multiple ‘Designer of the Year’ awards, including the Ahlan Fashion and Lifestyle awards; the Lux Style Award, the Most Stylish Fashion Icon at the MTV Style Awards and Style Guru of the Year by Indus Style Awards; One of I.Q Magazine’s Top 20 Fashion Icons of the World and amongst Ahlan’s Hot 100 People. In September 2014, HSY was included in ‘100 Pakistanis’, a book on influential Pakistanis.
Hassan made international headlines when Hollywood actress Brooke Shields wore a custom-made navy-blue, stone-encrusted gown from HSY’s ‘Divine Decadence’ collection to the star-studded American Ballet Theatre’s 2016 Fall Gala at the Lincoln Centre in New York City.
HSY also hosts a prime-time talk show ‘Tonite with HSY’ produced by the Hum Television Network which that is entering its fourth season.