Muzaffar Ali, essentially a painter, filmmaker and designer is deeply inspired by Sufism and bas along with his architect wife Meera have brought centuries' old tradition back to life through a decade of detailing and upgrading craft of Lucknow and Kotwara.

The label 'KOTWARA' is internationally associated with the philosophy of clothes that integrates aesthetics and humanity, peace and harmony as the wearer of Kotwara experiences an inner tranquility in contrast to a highly consumerist outlook.

The endeavour of the designer has been to look at style in the broadest sense of the concept and create products with a universal appeal and relevance by using the sense of fine detailing, which has evolved in India over the centuries.

The range extends from innovations in Indian and western forms using simple craft techniques of chikan, zardozi, tukdi and appliqué with hand detailing to create dramatic effects. The label of Kotwara has acquired a style of its own which is both avant-garde and traditional and evokes an image which is an interesting blend of detailing and innovation, modernity and old world charm.

From the traditional Lehnga they have a wide range of western forms from long coats to shorter jackets, dresses, skirts and trousers and are gently quilted, subtly embroidered and delicately hand finished.

The designs of the designers are the epitome of inner grace and even have the essence of nostalgia, the fragrance of the present, and the dream of the future. Muzaffar sketches clothes he designs in a trance, made of moments of the past and present, and projects them as valuables that people would cherish as to him these clothes are sacred and they enclose the temple of the human form.

Since 1990, Meera & Muzaffar Ali have held several fashion shows in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Madras, Singapore, Kuwait, London and New York.