Held last week at a swanky location in an upscale area of Karachi, the Elan Women of Talent festival was a burst of colours and creativity that saw women of diverse ages, backgrounds, shapes and sizes emerge from the boundaries of their homes and from behind their computer screens and exhibit their skills and creativity for other women. This was no idle get-together though, and all of the women who participated were new or emerging entrepreneurs and their optimism was contagious.

Apart from their all being enterprising entrepreneurs, they were also united by their tech-savviness. Almost every single exhibitor at the festival had a Facebook page through which they had been conducting their business. The internet provides you with a virtual marketplace to exhibit your wares and talent without incurring the cost (that can run into millions of rupees) of setting up a physical outlet. The fact that it can be done from the comfort of one’s home enables a lot of women from Pakistan — whose families may not approve of them physically stepping out to work — to pursue their dreams … while making a tidy sum of money on the side.

“Being a woman and not being dependent on anything … it’s an out-of-this-world feeling!” said a very enthusiastic Madeeha Raza, who was exhibiting her truck-art inspired collection of clothes, handbags, clutches and accessories — all created under the ‘Handmade’ label. She is a graduate of textile design from the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture in 2010 and has been designing ever since.

From monochromatic saris with vibrant, colourful pallus, handbags with cute descriptions such as ‘Dramay Baaz’ and tops with screen-printed cartoons of women on motorcycles, her work stood out as compared to the rest of what was being exhibited at the festival.

“My family is super duper supportive!” she added, motioning to her mother who had been with her at the stall all day. She’s also exhibited internationally in Dubai and Switzerland.

Just as one was leaving the stall, a large rectangular handbag with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan screen-printed on it caught my attention. “We did this as a tribute to Pakistani legends,” she explained, “and we’re hoping to come out with more soon!”

“It’s great that we have this community,” said Marium Jangda from EmJay Accessories. “I missed the exhibition last year, but it definitely helps getting people to actually see your product, because they can’t see it this way online.” EmJay Accessories is a label she started a year ago representing her collection of handmade jewellery and hair accessories. Marium graduated from Szabist last year with a degree in Media Sciences.

“I’ve always been very crafty,” she explained, “I’ve always made my own jewellery and designed little clips for myself.” She first started off using fabric and mentioned that her blue rose design on hair clips and hair bands is one of her most popular designs. She also works very much with chains and pearls, later moved on to inclined rhinestones because “we’re all into a lot of bling bling!” she explained.

In a little corner of the festival were these beautiful hand painted handbags by Zaira Naqvi. Sold under the label of Xee Crafts, the artwork on the bag display silhouettes of very stylish women engaged in various activities — hanging out with friends, walking on the street, posing, etc. Naqvi has a master’s degree in clothing and merchandising from the College of Home Economics and said that although she faced a little resistance from her family initially, after they saw the way her business was working out, they gave way eventually.

According to her, events like the festival “Give an opportunity for us to showcase our talent. Women come out of this as creative and perhaps a little more ‘convincing’ that they can do something, especially when people get a first-hand look at what we can do.”

While some women worked and others shopped, their men could be seen sitting in various locations around the venue … often huddled together on sofas either looking bored out of their minds, or minding the children. There were men with prams or babies strapped to their chests at their very supportive best. Cheers to them for being so very awesome for their womenfolk!

“A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.” — Coco Chanel