\n<\/p>\n
Designer talks about his battle with blindness, his mother\u2019s sacrifices and the experiences that shaped his career<\/p>\n
HSY sat down for an interview with Frieha Altaf for the FWhy Podcast. PHOTO: Screengrab <\/p>\n
Fashion designer and television personality Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, popularly known as HSY, revealed that he completely lost his eyesight in both eyes for nearly a year, an experience that left him in deep depression and changed the way he experienced life.<\/p>\n
In a recent\u00a0interview<\/a>\u00a0with Frieha Altaf, HSY spoke candidly about losing his vision, the difficult circumstances of his childhood, being raised by his mother after his parents\u2019 divorce, his complicated relationship with his father and the struggles he faced before establishing himself in Pakistan\u2019s fashion industry.<\/p>\n He also reflected on his mother\u2019s sacrifices, his early years of working different jobs and his plans to launch a separate ready-to-wear brand.<\/p>\n Losing his eyesight<\/strong><\/p>\n HSY recalled that the incident that led to the loss of his eyesight happened while he was returning from getting food with his best friend.<\/p>\n \u201cOne day we were sitting and we were all fasting, and we thought, \u2018Let\u2019s get food.\u2019 We went to get food and were coming back. My best friend was driving the car, and we were listening to the azaan. When I took my bag, the steam came out and blocked everything. When he cleaned the screen, he swerved off the road. I lost my eyesight in both my eyes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The sudden loss of his eyesight had a profound effect on him. With his vision gone, he found himself relying heavily on his other senses. \u201cWhen your eyes go, your other senses grow. I used to hear my mom crying from four rooms away as if she was near me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n His eyesight remained affected for nearly a year before he eventually sought treatment. He later underwent multiple surgeries with the support of the Layton Rahmatulla Benevolent Trust (LRBT). \u201cI gave myself up as a surgical case to LRBT, and they helped me get my eyesight back.\u201d<\/p>\n The experience eventually led to an enduring association with the organisation. \u201cToday, I am a global ambassador for an eye hospital.\u00a0I had 14 surgeries performed on me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The mother who shaped his ambition<\/strong><\/p>\n HSY also spoke about a childhood shaped by his mother. He shared that he was born in Islamabad into a family with connections to politics and the armed forces, but his parents\u2019 early separation led to a difficult upbringing.<\/p>\n \u201cI was born in Islamabad. My father\u2019s side and my mom\u2019s side were both connected to politics and the armed forces. My parents got divorced when I was two, and we left Pakistan. It was very hard for my mom to raise me alone. It was more difficult for her because she had grown up in a relaxed, luxurious life,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n He spent much of his childhood in New York City, where his mother worked multiple jobs to support him. \u201cShe ran away, and I spent most of my life in New York City with an incredible mom.\u201d<\/p>\n For HSY, watching his mother rebuild her life became one of the biggest sources of his ambition.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reason for my ambition is my mom and the difficulties she went through, which I saw \u2014 a woman who had never done anything like that before, doing four jobs. I used to see times when I wouldn\u2019t see her the whole day.\u201d<\/p>\n His mother worked wherever she could, from babysitting and working at a petrol station to serving as a secretary and working in a store. \u201cShe was babysitting, working in a gas station, working as a secretary or working in a store. Any job, whether it was big or small, my mom was my mom. She was my hero.\u201d<\/p>\n HSY\u2019s sister was also initially with him, but the siblings were separated when they were young. \u201cMy sister was with me, but not for long. We got separated when I was around four or five and she was nine or ten. She had gone to England. I hadn\u2019t seen her for eight years, and I was alone.\u201d<\/p>\n Much of what he learned, he said, came from observing the people around him and figuring things out himself. \u201cI don\u2019t necessarily remember learning from a specific person. It was like learning on the job. I used to see my friends shave, so I would start shaving. If there was a way to eat, I\u2019d learn it.\u201d<\/p>\n His experiences also shaped his approach to independence. \u201cI live a positive life because I don\u2019t expect anything from people. I think if you want to do something, do it yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite everything he experienced, HSY said he considered himself fortunate. \u201cI am also very lucky. Allah gave me a lot,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Working his way up<\/strong><\/p>\n Before becoming a fashion designer, HSY said he was willing to take on whatever work was available.<\/p>\n \u201cI used to teach English when I was 15. Later, I would go and knock on people\u2019s doors, saying, \u2018I\u2019ll teach you English.\u2019 I even worked as a cashier in Lahore. I\u2019ve picked up wood. I used to come to places on a rickshaw. Getting\u00a0Rs30 was a lot for me at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n He said he never viewed any of those jobs as something that made him less than anyone else.<\/p>\n \u201cWhether I worked somewhere small or whatever, I didn\u2019t think less of myself because my mother was not less than anyone else. Whether she was a tutor or doing something smaller, she was respected. She was working and raising me.\u201d<\/p>\n That perspective, he said, came directly from watching his mother.<\/p>\n His complicated relationship with his father<\/strong><\/p>\n HSY also opened up about his relationship with his father, describing it as complicated and saying the relationship eventually became distant. \u201cMy father \u2014 the end with him was not good, which is why I don\u2019t speak much about him.\u201d<\/p>\n He said his mother never encouraged him to resent his father. \u201cMy mother never said anything bad about him. She just told me about him and said he would ask about me when I was younger and wanted me back.\u201d<\/p>\n When HSY returned to Pakistan at 16, his father offered for him to stay with him, but by then he had already grown up with his mother.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mother wanted to raise me. But my dad was in a position where, when I came back to Pakistan at 16, he said I could come to him. But I didn\u2019t really want that. I had grown up with my mother.\u201d<\/p>\n HSY said his father had not contributed to his education or upbringing, although there was a point when he himself asked his father for financial assistance. \u201cWhen I was 35 or 36, he called me. He had become paralysed after a stroke and had lost all his money and his ability to take care of himself.\u201d<\/p>\n It was his mother who encouraged him to help his father despite their past. \u201cThen my mom told me, \u2018Maybe he hasn\u2019t done anything for you, but he is your father and you\u2019ll regret it later for not helping him. So thank Allah that you can help him.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n HSY said he ultimately supported his father for 15 years, an experience that changed his understanding of their relationship. \u201cI helped him for 15 years, and in those years I gained the understanding that each person doesn\u2019t have everything, and every human being isn\u2019t perfect or capable of being a father.\u201d<\/p>\n Finding his way into fashion<\/strong><\/p>\n HSY\u2019s entry into the fashion industry was far from conventional. With limited access to established circles, he decided to approach magazines himself.<\/p>\n \u201cWe used to have six or so magazines, and I sent them handwritten letters. I said, \u2018You don\u2019t know me. I\u2019m sending you some work. If you can print them, I\u2019ll be a big designer in Pakistan.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n His persistence paid off. \u201cOut of seven, five of them took my covers,\u201d he shared.<\/p>\n He soon began receiving calls from some of the most recognisable names in the country. \u201cMy first phone calls were from Tahira Syed and Babra Sharif.\u201d<\/p>\n While couture remained a significant part of his career, HSY revealed that he was preparing to enter the ready-to-wear space with a separate brand.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m about to launch a ready-to-wear brand, and I\u2019m excited about it. It\u2019s going to be separate from HSY. I\u2019ve always been into couture, but ready-to-wear is a space that also requires direction,\u201d he shared.<\/p>\n He also spoke about the need for greater structure within Pakistan\u2019s fashion industry, particularly when it came to shows and schedules. \u201cThere need to be the right shows. I feel like right now everything is all over the place. We need to bring things back and bring people down to a schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n For HSY, the journey to becoming a household name was shaped by far more than fashion. From watching his mother work multiple jobs and learning to fend for himself from a young age, to losing his eyesight and rebuilding his life, his story was inseparable from the person behind the public name.<\/p>\n His experiences remain an important part of how he sees himself today. \u201cIf people are judging you, don\u2019t judge them. I think you should tell people every single thing about you. You\u2019re a whole human being of experiences,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n