About Us

A little bit about us

Gulai Gulzar started from something really simple: I loved designing my own suits.

Growing up, getting suits made for gurdwara, paats, weddings and family events was completely normal for me. When I was younger, my mum would design them for me, and as I got older I started getting more involved myself, playing around with different fabrics, colours, silhouettes and details.

My style has always been a bit of a mix. I grew up around Afghan, Pakistani and Indian clothing, while also being obsessed with the looks I saw in 2000s Bollywood and the fashion around me in the UK. I’d take inspiration from all of it and make something that felt like me.

Eventually I started posting the suits I was wearing online, and people kept asking me where they were from. When I told them they were pieces I had designed with the help of my mum, the response made me realise there might actually be something there.

And that’s how Gulai Gulzar began.

The world of GG

There isn’t really one Gulai Gulzar aesthetic, because there isn’t one way I like to dress.

Some days it’s a huge flowing sharara and loads of jewellery. Other days it’s lace and pearls, florals, a tiny blouse, an animal print or a simple georgette suit in the brightest colour possible.

A lot of my inspiration comes from things that have stayed in my head since I was little. Old Bollywood films playing in the house, music videos my cousin would put together, outfits worn by women in my family, fabrics I find while travelling, jewellery, colours and silhouettes I randomly become obsessed with.

GG lets me take all of those references and turn them into something of my own.

The clothes might have a little Y2K influence or feel reminiscent of something you could have seen in a 2000s Bollywood film, but they are always Desi clothes first. I never want to take the fun out of them. I love colour, femininity, drama and pieces that make getting dressed feel exciting.

What does Gulai Gulzar mean?

The name Gulai Gulzar brings together Farsi and Hindko, two languages I grew up around, and my love of flowers.

The imagery behind the name has always felt right for the brand: flowers, gardens, colour and blossoming.

More than anything, I want girls to put on a Gulai Gulzar suit and feel like they’ve blossomed in it. Not like they have to become somebody else, but like the clothes have brought out the most confident, radiant version of who they already are.

Meet the founder

Hi, I’m Gursimran, the founder and designer behind Gulai Gulzar.

I’m an Afghan Sikh designer and content creator from the UK, and GG is basically a physical version of everything that has lived in my head for years.

I studied History at King’s College London, but alongside university I was building Gulai Gulzar, creating content and slowly figuring out what I wanted the brand to become. What started with Instagram DMs and suits designed between me and my mum eventually became our own website and customers across the UK and around the world.

GG is still a family-run business. My mum is a huge part of it, my brother built our first website while I was unwell, and my family have been behind the brand from the beginning.

We’re still growing, experimenting and figuring things out as we go, but I think that’s part of what makes GG feel like Gulai Gulzar.

Thank you for being part of our little garden.

Lots of love,
Sim x