Empowering Style. The Celebrity Wishmaker Simonetta Lein Meets Designer Shahida Clayton of Shahida Parides.
The way I approach fashion is the way I approach life: trying to empower, uplift, and enrich. Your style can define but can also motivate you, unleashing that special energy to go out into the world.
For me, style is when the outside reflects your inside. Wearing clothes can become a profound experience like being the ambassador of a message and a concrete action. This is exactly what Shahida Clayton does – a designer dedicating her life to make women beautiful as well as help ing women in India to be more independent. I find her cause so amazing and it makes me so proud to support her, have her on my blog, and be her ambassador for such a noble cause: supporting women and helping meaningful wishes come true.
Who are you and what is the name of your business?
My name is Shahida Clayton and I am the CEO and designer of my luxury fashion and resort brand – Shahida Parides.
What is your brand about?
Shahida Parides is a contemporary women’s clothing line I created with the goal of making every women, and body type, feel empowered, sexy, modern, chic and comfortable. Each piece in the Shahida Parides collection embraces modern technology, and yet is fiercely inspired by nature, culture and history. The majority of our garments are one size fits most, and all of the graphic art for my prints are signature and custom. However, our new Shahida Basics RTW line in solids, rather than prints, has really taken off as well, both in our brick and mortar retail stores as well as direct to consumer from our website. Each year of business we grow tremendously and I’m looking forward to 2017 being yet another exceptional year for us.
What is your mission?
My mission has always been to create a brand that speaks to all women, making them feel powerful and free. Since the majority of my styles are one size fits most, we can fit most sizes and shapes of women; that was very important to me when launching the brand as I wanted our clothes to always feel as unique and special and the women wearing them. As you know, this January, I launched the Heart2Heart brand ambassadorship program as my way of giving back through philanthropy. We will be partnering with an amazingly powerful woman, like you, and donating 30% of sales from their exclusive picks to their chosen charity, while simultaneously raising awareness through our global network.
Are you a Millennial? What do you think about Millennials?
I am a little older than a millennial, I guess in America you would call me Generation X, but we don’t really categorize in that way in India. However, my office in Arizona is full of interns and staff who are, as you would say, Millennials. I love their grasp of social media, their deep concern for social issues and their readiness to jump in head first into any project I throw at them. They are the future of business and I really enjoy mentoring them.
If you are here it means that you love fashion. Why?
As a young girl, growing up in a highly conservative Muslim section of India, I was intrigued by Western culture as it was foreign and considered a bit taboo. I loved wearing pants and big sunglasses, to the dismay of many of our neighbors, as this was simply not way a good young Muslim girl should dress. Also, my Aunties and my Grandmother all sewed and worked in the fashion industry to some degree and they were great influences on my character. I loved watching them make clothes, and they taught me about various textiles, how to sew, how to envision the shape of a garment after it has been built. My admiration for fashion and making beautiful things started in my youth and has stayed with me to this day .
**Here is my “Empowering Style” collection for Shahida: feminine, classy, and so particular that you will literally stop traffic while wearing it. This time I intreprete Shahida’s style with a collection we created togerther #heart2heart that you can purchase at www.thewishwall.org/shop
**This is the #heart2heart print on palazzo pants. I was wearing them ready to go to New York Fashion Week and everyone stopped me to ask me: who makes these pants? You have no idea the pride I had saying: Shahida Parides and this is a collection I selected! The red top is simply feminine, young, and ready for Spring!
**The effect of this flawless red kimono dress is perfectly captured by Byron Purnell, our photographer. Traffic was stopping!
**This is Shahida Parides as a lot of people know her: long, flawless, unique and very feminine. I fell in love with this style and it is a must trend for next Spring/Summer.
What cannot miss from your wardrobe?
I always wear 6 inch heels as I’m barely 5’ tall.
**Here Shahida is doing the final catwalk after her Style Fashion Week show wearing one of the #heart2heart collection dresses and her high heels.
Your favorite pair of shoes and why?
My Manolo Blahnik booties with studs. Need I say more? LOL
What is your style, and what you cannot stand in people, inside and out?
My uniform is a little black Shahida Parides jacket, styled with jeans and a pair of boots or booties and a brightly colored top from my Basics collection. Red and blue are my go to colors. What I cannot stand about certain people is their ability to lie and backstab. It’s in my nature to trust people and sadly, I have been burned a few times.
What is your fashion mantra?
“I can do that better”
**Empowering women is all about show always how we can be better, happier and prettier. Fashion like life is a continue research to strive for more.
What is that magic word that speaks about you?
Dream! I dreamt about everything I’ve ever done. I believe that if you work and dream hard enough, you can manifest anything you desire.
**You are on the right place, dear Shahida. With The Wishmaker your dreams are safe. Wishes have to be dreamed, wanted, planned and they can happen. There is always a way if you wished for it with all your heart. Shahida made one of my wishes come true, making me sign with her a scarves collection to benefit The Wishwall Foundation.
**Do you see my signature? You can shop at www.thewishwall.org/shop
What is a wish that you would commit to granting this year to someone?
There are many I can think of… I would love to take a young aspiring fashion designer under my wing and mentor her about our industry. We could make a special custom dress for a young girl for her prom… The ideas are endless, and I get excited just thinking about making young girls’ wishes come true.
**It would be nice to make some of these wishes come true together by selecting a deserving wish from The Wishwall.
Thank You Shahida for being such an inspiration, for making me feel beautiful, for believing in me, and for empowering women. Please support our cause and SHOP the #HEART2HEART COLLECTION to help meaningful wishes come true.
As always, make your wishes come true.
From Philadelphia, The Celebrity Wishmaker Simonetta Lein[/vc_column_text][/vc_column]
