Influences on Ethnic Pakistani Attire

What is now Pakistan, once a key artery of the ancient Silk Road, was a vibrant crossroads of cultures, ideas, and aesthetics.

These layered influences are still visible in local fashion—some woven into everyday attire, others preserved in history and tradition.

A visual journey exploring how ethnic Pakistani attire reflects shared heritage with neighbouring cultures and the styles carried along old trade routes:

The Tajik kurta poijama and the Pakistani shalwar kameez.

A Kazakh Couple in the 1870s, Uzbek ethnic attire, and the Anrakha.

A photograph of an Algerian Couple in the 1800s, and a Balochi Shalwar.

Parsi women of the subcontinent, who had migrated from Persia adopted a specific style of drape for their Sarees.

A Moroccan Kaftan and a Pakistani Kaftan.

Farshi gharara’s, which were inspired by Victorian gowns, worn by British women in India during the Raj.

Pakistani Shalwar Kameez and the Omani Silwar, Lihaf and Kandura.