Bradford based siblings help craft outfits seen at the BAFTAs & the Met Gala

A brother and sister duo are making headlines for the luxurious, handcrafted outfits they’ve made for red carpet, A-list events like the BAFTA’s and the Met Gala.

Humma and Hummad Ilyas run Huma Humad in Bradford which has become a go to place for haute couture bridal and party wear in just four years of opening. The siblings draw from their years of experience in the fashion, textile, and design industry to create each outfit.

Dr Amir Khan, a full-time GP, author, and TV doctor, wore the brand’s custom-made green jacket to the BAFTA’s last weekend.

Delicately adorned with tiny beads and nature-inspired patterns, Dr Khan told fans his outfit was a “hit” at the prestigious ceremony.

The journey to making fashion for the stars and glamorous weddings has not been an easy route, Humma, who worked in London for many years, and Hummad, opened their store in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Facing restrictions and local lockdowns, Huma Humad was online only for quite some time. 

Hummad said: “It was a struggle for the first two years. It was so hard because of the economic crisis.”

After a glitzy business event with key figures, they attracted investment from Natwest.

The siblings recently created an intricate outfit for Met Gala guest, influencer, and author  Shabaz Ali, also known as Shabaz Says’.

Hummad said: “Shabaz came with his family for his brother’s wedding.

As they were placing the order he goes, ‘are you guys designers? It’s really rare to see this kind of talent, I’ve got a couple of events, would you be able to do X, Y, Z?’. I said we’re up for challenges. 

Next thing I know, Shabaz is sitting down with us. There was so many late nights.”  Designed to honour Vogue editor Anna Wintour’s theme, ‘Garden of Time’, the outfit took three months to make.”

He added: “It was a lot of pressure. We’ve never done anything like this. It was a massive honour and gratitude towards Shabaz for trusting us to do this.

He’s had big-name designers approach him from Pakistan, India, and the full-on trust with us in delivering what he wants is amazing. We’re small people compared to these big designers.

We flew out to Pakistan to get this started with the production team. We were there for two and a half weeks. We were sitting there with threadworkers.”

Humma, 32, and Hummad live in the Heaton area with their family.

In a message to young people growing up in Bradford, Humma said: “Dream big, don’t ever dream small. Even with opening our shop and boutique, we went really big on this. Why should we always think small? 

Don’t think you can’t achieve anything. People start from nowhere and get places. There’s lots of talent in Bradford, Daniel [Lee], the head designer for Burberry. Anything can happen for anybody, you’ve got to reach for it.”