KARACHI: The Karachi-based Fashion Pakistan Council kicked off the spring/summer season by hosting its two-day event on Wednesday showcasing the design talent of both emerging and established designers.

The designers who showcased on day one were Ayesha Farook Hashwani, Nauman Arfeen, Huma Adnan of FnkAsia, Arsalan Iqbal, Bank Alfalah Rising Talent featuring Tooba Chottani, Areej Iqbal, Fatima Abdul Rauf and Zafar Ahsan Naqvi; Zaheer Abbas by Urdu 1, Humayun Alamgir, Nida Azwer and finally Teena Durrani.

Ayesha F. Hashwani showed a collection based on the theme of the sky, sea life and the sun in silk prints and a myriad of cuts ranging from classic cocktail dresses to pants and tunics in all shapes besides elegant and smart chic jackets, along with ultra-short skirts.

Menswear couturier Nauman Arfeen chose the theme ‘Wild Wild Vest’ to describe and label his collection of innovative cuts, minimal styling and a keen eye on possible future trends. At times bordering on the extreme and the risqué, salvation came in the form of wearable outfits and basic tones in familiar fabric which added to its wearability.

‘Spread your wings and fly’ was the theme of Huma Adnan’s latest collection for FnkAsia in which she fused silk thread embroidery bird motifs with bling to create intricate embellishments on a canvas of fusion cuts, tunics, separates and mix-n-match outfits. The tones were subdued and the overall look and feel was somewhat restrained.

Arsalan Iqbal showed a strain of muted tones of greys, blacks and browns in a complete menswear collection while offering hardly anything preciously new. Nevertheless it spoke out in terms of myriad cuts, silhouettes and structuring.

Bank Alfalah Rising Talent hosted four aspiring design students, one of whom will be entitled to a whopping cash prize after a voting process to kick-start his/her career in fashion. However, as in previous cases, the segment was high on experimentation and creative vision but fell somewhat

short when it came to true innovation and translating design into something truly captivating with a definite wow factor. Guess we will have to stay tuned for more.

Zaheer Abbas for Urdu 1 designed outfits for the cast and crew of Mehrunnisa We Lub You in the segment which featured Yasir Nawaz Baloch and Nida Yasir, Javed Sheikh and others from the lead credits.

Humayun Alamgir with Ayyash went overboard with extreme sequined and brocade jackets by daring to bring bling to menswear. It was fun to watch and passionate to create no doubt and will take a real man to wear it as well. Hats off to the designer for daring to go where no man had gone before.

Nida Azwer’s luxe collection was strictly western with flamboyant fabrics and cuts that focused on volume and exuberance with a definite bling factor brought into play. Teena Durrani brought into play print, embroidery and silhouettes to define the essence of the modern, independent woman.

The hair and make-up on both days is by N-Pro and N-Gents with show choreography by Frieha Altaf and media management by Tehmina Khaled and her team at Take II.

Day two will showcase collections by Nida Azwer (The White Label), Inaaya, Fashion DNA featuring Munib Nawaz, Zuria Dor, The Pink Tree Company, Jeem, Sonya Battla and Gulabo, Toni & Guy trends segment, Amir Adnan, Amato, Deepak Perwani and finally 10 Years of Fashion with Bunto Kazmi, Shamaeel Ansari, HSY, Umar Sayeed, Sana Safinaz, Deepak Perwani, Nomi Ansari, Amir Adnan, Nilofer Shahid and Maheen Khan.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2017