All Newspapers Advertisement | Lifestyle Trends Newspaper Advertisement and Lifestyle Trends Women’s luxury brand, Elan launched its new unstitched collection Tresor on Sunday. Creative director of Elan, Khadijah Shah says that the collection is accessible to all women with a very ‘affordable’ price tag that is between Rs. 18,000–20,000.
But that’s not all. According to Elan’s Instagram post, the price will go up to Rs. 10,000 if customers want it stitched.
So a lot of people following me give me grief for Élan being unaffordable. I thought I’d share our newest collection Tresor with you guys! It’s an unstitched wedding season collection. Beautifully hand embellished and quintessentialy elan priced just between 18-20k pic.twitter.com/5G8cUDNzJ4
— khadijah shah (@khadijah_shah) September 22, 2019
It seems that luxury brands have misunderstood the definition of what ‘accessible’ and ‘affordable’ means to their customers. Elan is a well-renowned clothing brand in Pakistan with high-end clientele. But when the brand dabbles with the concept of introducing reasonably priced Tresor collection to the market, it sparked an outrage of sorts from many Pakistanis over at Twitter.
Just when people thought it couldn’t get any dumber than Generation’s campaign for school teachers, in came Elan with their new ‘affordable’ collection.
Generation: we’re gonna use teachers as models for our clothes that no teacher can actually afford lol
Élan: hold my sui dhaga https://t.co/fJr5ic7i00
— 👽 (@doctorwhothefuc) September 22, 2019
Many of the people took to Twitter to share their two-cents and ‘feelings’ about the collection. Let’s just say it was not what Khadijah Shah expected, as the creative director was put on notice by Pakistani Twitter.
’18-20k’ is affordable?? AFFORDABLE??????? I- https://t.co/0eiEzIBWx6
— Ahaz Makhdoom اَحز (@ABSMakhdoom) September 23, 2019
Some were not big fans of the brand’s new French collection…
And let’s be honest people, the clothes don’t even look that good. You can get better sh*t for much much less.
— Rational (@Thomas_WayneFPt) September 22, 2019
For some, candies and chocolate were a better option instead of buying a dress
19-20k is so cheap . I buy candies for that much whenever I go to convenience store . …
— Maaz Siddiqui (@m_siddiq7) September 22, 2019
Following the backlash on Twitter, Shah responded:
Would love to see what’s being compared here that’s for much less. But if it’s not for you, it’s not for you. Why are you trolling. You can buy whatever you want, no one’s putting a gun to your head. I’ve only given the information for the benefit of those who find it valuable.
— khadijah shah (@khadijah_shah) September 23, 2019
It didn’t help much as most people were outraged by her justification.
18k to 20k is NOT affordable for 85% of Pakistan’s population. You need to get your facts right before trying to justify an Elite Clothing brand’s particular collection as ‘affordable. Elan has beautiful clothes, but they are not for the masses.
— ISKIDO (@TheStarRegulus) September 23, 2019
People called out on her misconception of middle class and upper middle class
let me rephrase … its cheaper relative to other ridiculously priced products … but its not affordable … not even for middle class … you cater to upper middle class and upper class … so stop insulting people’s intelligence.
— Murtaza Sikander (@msikanderkhan) September 23, 2019
Many on Twitter sided with Khadijah Shah’s and made some fair points regarding the price tag.
It’s not the price that bothers me now, to be honest. After giving a considerable thought, I think if the labourers are fairly* compensated for such a commodity, the price is fair. https://t.co/w3MfXZF4Oo
— Zafaryab (@NotZafaryab) September 23, 2019
People called out those that justified prices of other high-end brands instead of acknowledging Elan’s efforts.
I find it confusing really because the same are able to justify the prices of Chanel and Dior. In the consumer industry there is a product for everyone and a market for everyone. If an individual is looking beyond their means, it isn’t the company’s problem. https://t.co/wcZW9BkJp0
— A (@Syngrafeas__) September 22, 2019
Some were either just sarcastic or genuinely excited for Elan’s latest collection.
Now I know what to get with the last 20k in my account. Thanks, Elan! https://t.co/NxiPDjekI3
— Atiya Abbas (@AtiyaAbbas_) September 22, 2019
Despite the negative to mixed reactions on Elan’s latest collection, there were several people who pointed out why the latest collection exists at such a price, since Elan generally caters a niche market that is willing to pay the price.
