Saima Rashid is the perfect personification of the well-worn cliche, 'follow your dreams'. And putting her work where her heart is she has stepped up the rungs of the ladder of success. A stylist at par with the leading hair and make-up artistes in the country, Saima is known for the saucy creativity that has become a significant hallmark of her work. Disregarding all criticism, valid or fallacious, she confidently experiments, explores, throws in a bit of adventure in her ingenious strokes and takes immense pride in the resulting artistry.

She coiffures hair and dolls up faces, obscure or famous. She dresses up brides and glamorizes models for print shoots, the catwalk and television commercials. And today, ten years after she started out, this is where Saima is at because she dared to follow her dreams.

Had it not been for Saima's headstrong will, she would demurely have become a doctor or some academic type at her family's bidding and taken on a role that had no place in her inherently artistic nature. Fortunately for Saima, the rebel inside gave her the courage to pave her own way. "As a teenager I used to live in Lahore with my family. My parents gave the utmost importance to academic education and as far as they were concerned, art and creativity had no value. They thought that anybody who wasn't a doctor or an engineer didn't amount to much and they thoroughly discouraged me when I started dabbling in the creative arts and took up painting on canvass.

I was also into modelling for magazines at the time. My first break came when I was contacted by a local advertising agency for a milk product ad. That launched my career. Modeling gave way to styling and before I knew it, I had made a niche for myself offstage, away from the limelight. I started painting faces on the live canvas, which unlike a real canvas is so versatile and gives immediate feedback," she reflects.

Saima moved to Karachi in 1991, attracted by the professionalism in Karachi's cosmopolitan fashion scene. She desperately wanted to keep herself at bay from the disparaging influence of the film industry in Lahore and felt that her professions, first modeling and then styling, were looked down upon by the culture-conscious Lahoris. Karachiites, on the other hand, were more sophisticated and mature where fashion was concerned. Saima adjusted with little problem and opened up her own salon called Saima's Salon with Huma, a close friend of seven years. "Huma, my best friend and colleague works with me. I simply couldn't do without her. We're a team and together with our assistants, we pool in our efforts and handle all the projects that come our way. When you're as busy as I am and have ten projects at one time, you need a sincere, dedicated team to complete your assignments and meet deadlines. I am so grateful to God that I am blessed with such a team," says Saima.

The professionalism that had earlier attracted Saima to Karachi has now become a major concern for her. At present, the fashion industry in Karachi lacks any semblance of professionalism and is ridden with an active and notorious fashion mafia. "Five years ago there was no politics in this business, but now competition has increased and as more and more fresh talent is coming up, the seniors are giving in to insecurity and resorting to underhanded scheming. What they don't realize is that nothing beats good work. They can conspire and threaten all they want, but at the end of the day they can't run the show alone and those who deserve appreciation will get it. There are times when I'm lined up for a shoot, all prepared with my team, and at the eleventh hour the organizer calls me up and tells me that the shoot has been reassigned to another stylist because that stylist happened to be a good friend of so-and-so or had a lot of contacts with the right people," says Saima, her anger evident in her voice and her face.

With the cutthroat ambition that is prevailing in the big bad glitzy world of fashion, it is certainly not the easiest of places to survive . Models, designers, stylists, choreographers, photographers and anybody who happens to be in the rat race, compete for recognition and opportunities to promote their skill. But this competition is not always very ethical when envy and jealousy rear their ugly heads. A case in point, says Saima, is the recently televized 'Face of the Year' contest, organized by an international soap company. "I was approached by the organizers who wanted me to do the hair and makeup of all the participating girls. However, in the panel of judges was a stylist who insisted on doing the hair and makeup of the winning girl. This stylist said that if his demand wasn't met with, he would resign as a judge and with him two other judges would resign as well. I did not comply with his condition because I had been offered a package deal for the entire show. For the first time, I took a stand for myself and made it very clear that I would go to the press if this conspiracy against me continued and this stylist was given the work that I had been assigned to do. Finally, this stylist resigned alone and we got another one to replace him."

Saima is anything but conventional in her work. She is so in tune with her aesthetic sense and her instinct for fashion that there are times when she has already experimented and incorporated a style or look before others catch on. "Tradition is a little monotonous and boring so I like to try out creative looks and styles that are completely unique. Being different is not necessarily ugly. It's fun and exciting and it gives you life and spunk. There are certain people who criticize my creativity and say that I 'go overboard' and 'am far from original'. I create styles because creativity is what fashion is all about."

Saima is currently working as a stylist with almost all the prominent advertising agencies in the country. She cites her experience with multinational firms and the international market as nothing short of absolute pleasure. "Multinationals have such a professional attitude and the entire crew that shoots the advertisement is adept in its work. It's a very healthy learning experience and the best part is that they are very encouraging and give credit where it's due."

Before she tried her hand at styling Saima was a model, and since then she has made appearances in advertisements, compered shows and acted in a drama serial as well. The drama serial is caught up in red tape due to the fact that it also starred the errant and ostracized Komal Rizvi. About her deviant ventures in showbiz, Saima says, "Not only do I enjoy the different experiences, but I also like to learn and every venture gives me an opportunity to learn about different aspects of my work. For example, by being in front of the camera and seeing the result afterwards, I learn about the technical effect of lights when a picture is captured on a reel. That helps me in my work as a stylist because I can dress up the model or the actress according to the specifications of the camera and know the kind of effect I have to give and how it will look on screen."

Saima is a workaholic and proud to admit the fact too. Her portfolio features established celebrities like Vinnie, Iraj, Zoella, Sadia Imam, Nirma and Gia Ali to name only a few. Mirza Khurshid Masood is the only photographer she personally works with and her favourite designers include Shayainne Malik, Imrana and Moazzam Abbasi. Saima lives for the satisfaction that she draws from her work but says that there are two reasons she considers herself on a pedestal higher than the other stylists in the country. "See, everyone has talent. Everyone can learn to work well, but there are two things that give me an edge over my rivals: my attitude and my obsession for my work. I don't put on airs and I believe in merit. I don't go using my influences and contacts to get work and I don't work with people I don't like. I work religiously round the clock and I enjoy what I do. That is why, despite everything, I've managed to make it to the top."