Naeem Khan to open manufacturing hub in Miami

With attention to detail and a solid understanding of classic craftsmanship, New Yorker Naeem Khan is especially renowned for his red carpet gowns; typically curated from luscious silks and intricate embroideries, and adorned in dazzling embellishments of jewels. As a teenager, Khan left his textile family in India and relocated to the US, becoming a design apprentice under Halston. Here, he developed a knack for draping, as well as accentuating clean and elegant silhouettes.Khan has accrued a strong CV since his label’s 2003 debut. In 2011, the Mumbai-born designer dressed First Lady Michelle Obama in a gold strapless gown inspired by Andy Warhol’s Poppies print - the piece showcasing traditional Indian craftsmanship mixed with a classic American shape. Khan’s creations have also been featured in the films ‘Sex and The City’ and ‘Dreamgirls’. Such accolades have lifted the designer's profile and his namesake brand to unexpected heights. Following the global exposure, 2014 was all about expansion for Naeem Khan. The label’s next move is to open a new Naeem Khan fashion house in Florida located on the Miami River. Once completed, Naeem Khan garments will be centrally manufactured from the Miami hub, with total costs associated with the move estimated to be around $6m. Khan is buying into a former Miami carpentry shop before renovating it to make a 30,000-square-foot hub. Under the agreement, Khan will also pay a minimum $50,000 per year in wages to each one of his 50 staff, as ordered by Miami county officials who approved the brand's relocation. Miami officials want in on making their city the next fashion capital to dress the US map. The city’s southern places Miami as a quasi-fashion portal between North America and Latin America – the world’s fastest growing industrial market. For Khan, it’s an opportunity to upscale operations and pass on his niche knowledge of traditional textiles as a couturist; something Khan learned form his grandfather and father, who both designed clothing for the royal families. Khan’s earliest childhood memory, according to a Times of India interview, “is of playing with yards of rich fabric spread across my house in Bombay, and making toys out of wooden spools.” Fast forward to now, it was with a mix of grandeur and effervescence that the Naeem Khan spring/summer 2015 collection was presented in New York last September. The SS15 show, marked by a celebrity-packed front row, was heavy in multicolor bugle beading, with sequin sweatshirts and t-shirts donning floral clusters, rich in yellow and blue. Khan’s affinity with silk weaved its way through relaxed pants and sheer-panel sweats, layered with embellishments of crystal. For summer evenings, Khan played the expensive bohemian; offering beaded taffeta caftans and embroidered panel mini dresses, as well as jewel-tone, bias-cut satin gowns. A caviar-encrusted, emerald jumpsuit rounded out the collection; nostalgic glamor proving the ultimate statement piece for Khan's woman in 2015. The next twelve months at the brand’s Miami hub will be stylishly busy – taking what was put on the runway just months ago by Naeem Khan and turning the couture sports looks into something wearable in 2015.  It is an ambitious and exciting time for a designer whose intricate knowledge of textiles, such as silks and their modern usage, has served him well. And with the likely success of the Miami hub, Naeem Khan’s reach will surely spread.