Fashion’s favourite darling Andleeb Rana talks to us about moving ahead in a post lockdown world. While most of us are celebrating, albeit prematurely, the exit of Corona from our lives, others are still losing their loved ones to the mysterious disease. We all have to make our peace with it and return to some semblance of normalcy. Fashion icon, journalist, editor who is also behind Bulbul the pioneering brand for ethical and slow fashion in Pakistan and more recently employed as the Head of Communication for the British Deputy High Commission, Andleeb’s instagram stories had us inspired by just how well she’s been able to find balance between the pre and post covid world, so we just had to call her up and hear exactly how she does it. Keep reading to hear what she has to say in her own words.

Zindagi Post Covid

Face Masks – Let's embrace our new normal!

Oh gosh, 2020 has been insane! Obviously, we all miss our pre-pandemic lives! For the first time in history, everyone seems to have the same new normal: shopping online, trimming our hair ourselves, online classes, online meetings, work-from-home, lack of domestic help: no one had any FOMO from anyone! Post lockdown, things are still unfolding: i have hopes and i will be a happy woman if we are able to retain at least 70% our previous lives!

Her thoughts on milna julna

Simple rule so far: We don’t meet more than two to three people at a time and we try only to meet outdoor! I have friends who come over and we walk in the neighborhood, go for a bike ride or just sit in the garden, sipping away chai! Big gathering invites are unacceptable at the moment.

On continuing to be the boss lady that she is...

This is how you run a business in times of #COVID. My saturdays were officially dedicated to meeting the artisans of BULBUL.

How does she say hello

Hugs are only reserved for close family and very very close friends.... glad and happy to give up the MuahMuah of our world!

Karachi to Lahore? What's post covid travel like for the jetsetter...

It was very overwhelming! We all know planes are the worst spaces for distancing and a hub of germs! It was a bit crazy to be at the airport with all those people! But i planned my trip at a time when our Covid cases were at the lowest: i flew a day before Eid and came back on the 4th day of Eid. And i was extra cautious, mask at all times, usage of sanitizer, no drinks or food on flight and getting my luggage sanitized. I survived three cities with the same SOPs and thankfully stayed healthy. Earlier we use to stress with the security protocols ... now add all this madness ... and i think travel in near future will definitely be stressful and full of anxiety.

On cutie Nyle's plan for starting school this fall

I am still waiting for the school to release the SOPs and will make a decision after that. We are trying not to get Nyle too excited for now: don’t want him to go through a heartbreak later. Like i said, taking one-day-at-a-time! These are times when we can’t afford to make hasty decisions: sit back, analyze the situation, see the pros and cons and then make a decision!

So what's her formula?

Obviously, we can’t stop our lives completely, but it’s key to know the importance of the task at hand. Like my travel: last thing i want to do is travel right now, but it was essential, so i had to evaluate all the risks involved. Thats why I didn’t take my son along, as that would have been too risky. So yeah, i do a lot of questioning: “How important is it to meet this friend?”, “How important is the grocery run?”

So lets take a breather shall we?

We guess the only take back from all of this is that perhaps other than complete and blatant disregard of the advised SOPs, there’s really no right or wrong way of going about life, we’re all figuring it out together, and until we know better all we can do is, wear a mask, and go on living our best life.