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Industry’s Top Tailor to be Awarded MBE
Listed under: News
Published: Tuesday, February 16, 2010
One of London's most well-regarded tailors is to receive the ultimate accolade for her invaluable contribution to the craft industry this year, with an MBE from the Queen this month.
Imtaz Khaliq, who was of the the first tailors in London and boasts a career spanning almost 20 years in the sector, is currently one of the best-known and highly-respected names in the fashion industry. Having designed outfits for some of the most glamorous people in the world, including Michelle Pfeiffer and Sian Lloyd, she has also received a number of prestigious awards during her career and was named one of the top four tailors in London by Cosmopolitan magazine last year, and nominated as one of Britain's most powerful Asian women in 2009.
During her career, Ms Khaliq has used her high-profile to encourage greater diversity within the arts, seeing her spend the past ten years campaigning for equal rights for women and minorites in fashion.
The media furore surrounding her MBE is expected to reignite interest in the haberdashery market and propel dressmaking and sewing into the limelight once again.
Commenting on her success, Ms Khaliq says, “Girls have told me they went into tailoring because of me. I broke the mould of what’s traditionally expected of an Asian woman by setting up a successful creative business in a male-dominated industry. I try to show what you can achieve through determination and hard work. I’m not an overnight sensation; I got here through a hard slog and have never allowed myself to be limited by people’s perceptions.”
Mishal Husain, a BBC news presenter who will be wearing one of her designs in the near future, believes she is the ideal recipient of this honour, saying, “Imtaz's flair and cut are incomparable – I trust her eye and judgement and am grateful she is keeping tailoring skills alive in her inimitable way. She is a real find.”
All images courtesy of Harriet Armstrong
Imtaz Khaliq, who was of the the first tailors in London and boasts a career spanning almost 20 years in the sector, is currently one of the best-known and highly-respected names in the fashion industry. Having designed outfits for some of the most glamorous people in the world, including Michelle Pfeiffer and Sian Lloyd, she has also received a number of prestigious awards during her career and was named one of the top four tailors in London by Cosmopolitan magazine last year, and nominated as one of Britain's most powerful Asian women in 2009.
During her career, Ms Khaliq has used her high-profile to encourage greater diversity within the arts, seeing her spend the past ten years campaigning for equal rights for women and minorites in fashion.
The media furore surrounding her MBE is expected to reignite interest in the haberdashery market and propel dressmaking and sewing into the limelight once again.
Commenting on her success, Ms Khaliq says, “Girls have told me they went into tailoring because of me. I broke the mould of what’s traditionally expected of an Asian woman by setting up a successful creative business in a male-dominated industry. I try to show what you can achieve through determination and hard work. I’m not an overnight sensation; I got here through a hard slog and have never allowed myself to be limited by people’s perceptions.”
Mishal Husain, a BBC news presenter who will be wearing one of her designs in the near future, believes she is the ideal recipient of this honour, saying, “Imtaz's flair and cut are incomparable – I trust her eye and judgement and am grateful she is keeping tailoring skills alive in her inimitable way. She is a real find.”
All images courtesy of Harriet Armstrong
