Love Handmade Features at British Council Lahore

Last month, Love Handmade’s founder, Zein Ahmed, had the honour of speaking at the British Council Pakistan’s first-ever Fashion & Textile Symposium, Moving the Needle, held at the historic Alhamra Arts Council in Lahore. It was a rare and necessary moment — three days that brought together a wide and diverse range of voices from Pakistan’s fashion, craft, and sustainability ecosystem. But this was not a gathering for polished pitches or simple solutions. It was a space built, instead, for sitting inside the difficult questions that define the moment we’re living in.

What does it mean to create beauty in a time of crisis? What kind of futures are we weaving — consciously or unconsciously? And who, truly, gets to be at the centre of this story?
These were not abstract questions. They pulsed through every conversation, panel, and encounter across the three days. For Zein, they also went straight to the heart of Love Handmade’s work — a journey that began eight years ago with a single belief: that beauty should not break the people or the planet that bear it. That an embroidered textile should be able to pay for a daughter’s school fees. That a ralli quilt can be more than an heirloom — it can be a passport to independence. That true beauty does not come at the cost of invisibility, but is something that uplifts the hands that make it.

Zein joined a powerful panel discussion titled The Faultlines of Fabric, alongside Khadija Rahman of GENERATION, Nazish Hussain of Secret Stash, and Bisheshta Shrestha, a GEDSI (Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion) expert. The conversation was textured, honest, and often difficult — a deep reckoning with the contradictions of working in an industry that romanticizes tradition while simultaneously eroding it. Pakistan’s rich craft culture lives in constant tension: between the artisan and the algorithm, the heirloom and the haul, the longing to preserve and the pressure to scale.

There are no easy ways to untangle these threads. But what emerged — not just from this panel, but from the symposium as a whole — was a collective commitment to trying. To ask better questions. To build with intention. To refuse speed in favour of sustainability. Zein spoke candidly about the reality of working with rural, home-based women artisans — women whose work is often brilliant, meticulous, and deeply rooted in cultural heritage, yet who remain systematically excluded from the economic and social value chains that dominate the industry.

These artisans operate in the informal economy. They carry production debt. They lack access to legal protections, financing, and stable markets. They are, in most cases, invisible. And yet, they are the backbone of Pakistan’s cultural and economic future. At Love Handmade, centering these women has meant making choices that are not always commercially convenient — but always necessary. Paying artisans fairly, even when margins shrink. Offering cash advances so that no woman has to bear the cost of production herself. Choosing natural, low-impact materials, even when faster, cheaper alternatives are readily available. And most critically, co-creating with artisans, not just sourcing from them — because inclusion without authorship is not inclusion at all.

These are not small decisions. They slow things down. They make things harder. But they also create trust, dignity, and resilience — the kind of growth that doesn’t just benefit a brand, but strengthens an entire ecosystem. What stayed with Zein most after the panel was not any one comment or idea, but a shared understanding among the speakers: that sustainable fashion is not about perfection. It’s about showing up, again and again, in complexity — and navigating that complexity with care, honesty, and empathy.

The symposium would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of the British Council Pakistan team, who brought vision and integrity to every part of the experience. A heartfelt thank you to Amneh Shaikh-Farooqui, Fatima Mullick, and Zain Ali, whose thoughtfulness and commitment to meaningful dialogue shaped every inch of this event. Their work behind the scenes created the conditions for real, difficult, and transformative conversations to take place. And to Zein’s fellow panelists — Khadija, Nazish, and Bisheshta — thank you for your brilliance, your generosity, and your refusal to compromise on the values that matter. The fire and clarity you brought to the room was unforgettable.

In Pakistan today, conversations like these are not a luxury. They are essential. Climate change is accelerating, livelihoods are under threat, and cultural traditions — especially those led by women — are at risk of being erased or commodified beyond recognition. The socio-political landscape is turbulent, and yet the need to protect, celebrate, and evolve our craft heritage has never been more urgent.

To move the needle means many things. But above all, it means creating space for the hands and voices that have too long been left out. It means building an industry rooted not in extraction, but in reciprocity. And it means telling new stories — ones in which artisans are no longer footnotes in the fashion world, but central protagonists shaping its future.

Love Handmade is proud to be part of that story.