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The fashion wars are heating up with more and more groups having their own fashion weeks. On the one hand, it is great business and entertainment. On the other hand, it’s adversely affecting the quality of fashion. Quality over quantity is necessary if we truly want to develop into a fashion epicure in this region.
Recognising that the true couture in Pakistan is bridal, Hum TV and Style 360 have quietly and effectively carved their own niche around a holistic approach to bridal as much as to the joras themselves.
“The bridal industry is huge in Pakistan but bridal designers, both established and upcoming ones, were not being provided a platform to showcase their work,” said Sultana Siddiqui of Hum TV. “We wanted to give a boost to this industry and at the same time promote a soft image of Pakistan abroad.”
Officially titled Pantene Bridal Couture Week (PBCW) 2012, this is their third bridal couture foray and showcases the business of fashion as well as positions fashion alongside entertainment such as musical and dance performances by Hasan Rizvi’s Bodybeat, Club Caramel, Alamgir, Komal Rivzi and the extraordinary Egyptian tanura dance artiste, Hamada.
Designers Shamaeel Ansari and Nomi Ansari participated in solo shows, both preparing and presenting fresh collections, despite both showing last week at FPW3 of which Shamaeel is the chairperson. “I was exhausted but as partners we have to support each other,” she said. “As a channel that is dedicated only to fashion, so it is easy to reach out to your customers here.”
Nomi Ansari agreed, “FPW3 was where I showed western wear pret. PBCW, however, is where I get business and mileage from.”
The sets which were made by Aysha Adil had the lounge and red carpet area decorated with white floral arrangements, was a theme that continued to the exterior of the ramp as well as was used as props for models, particularly as miniature stages for them to sit and pose with. The ramp was adorned in Grecian style with arches, chandeliers, statues and urns in addition to the fresh flower arrangements.
The choreography by Imran Kureishi was experimental and kept things interesting, but oftentimes he did not make full use of the large ramp and slowed down the catwalks.
Black was used by a lot of designers and while traditionally many have felt superstitious about wearing black on their wedding day, it might now become a trend. “I ended my collection with three black bridals, pairing them with more traditional maroon/pink/plum dupattas,” said Zainab Sajid. “I often convince my brides to wear black. I think it is a superstition that we shouldn’t wear black and that black bridals look very elegant.”
Silver was also used instead of gold by almost all designers and Nomi Ansari featured ganga jamni work. “The collection is inspired by Rani Bagh in Hyderabad and I used a vibrant colour cycle,” he said.
The fabrics were generally eclectic, with mixtures of different textures and the colour palette too was diverse from soft pastels all the way to midnight blacks, burnt oranges to more traditional ivories. Even the expected heavy embroideries were absent from collections like Shamaeel’s.
Humayun Alamjir presented a wide range of groom wear, but ultimately his two western outfits drew the most catcalls from the audience. Hijab did a reasonable showing of a bridal trousseau style collection building from mini sets of black to white and finally soft orange hues.
Interspersed between the fashion and dance and musical performances were a very creative Hair as Art style hair and make-up show by Saba Ansari of Sabs Salon, jewellery shows by Carat Creations, Nadia Chotani and Argetum. These breaks pumped up the entertainment value—particularly the dance sequences by Hasan Rizvi’s Bodybeat. However, nothing quite topped Hamada’s unique dance style which consisted of 11 minutes of non-stop extraordinary twirling which doing magic tricks of sorts with his many layers of clothing and gadgets; it was a sight to behold that drew the crowd to its feet.
The final day was the most star-studded, including showstoppers Zeba Bakhtiar and cricketers Umar Gul and Younus Khan during the Cara collection showing. Once again silver was prevalent here, even in this western wear collection, as well as the showcasing of sherwanis worn with shalwars or pants, as well as jacket-sherwanis.
Monia Farooqi closed the main shows with silver-ivory and moved into block colours with showstoppers Mani and Hira. A stunning-red bridal clad Komal Rizvi sang Lambi Judaai to a dance choreographed by her brother as Javed Sheikh joined her at the tail end of her performance in the role of a father giving away the bride. The show segued into a grand fashion finale titled The Grand Couturiers showcasing 14 top industry designers including Amir Adnan, Shamaeel Ansari, Sana Safinaz, HSY, Mehdi, Neelo Allawala, Maheen Khan, Faiza Samee, Deepak Perwani, Nomi Ansari, Shehla Chatoor, Rizwan Beyg, The House of Kamiar Rokni, Umar Sayeed, Nilofer Shahid and Bunto Kazmi. Pop icon Alamgir sang the house down and closed the night on what was a truly memorable note.
Rizvi’s Bodybeat. However, nothing quite topped Hamada’s unique dance style which consisted of 11 minutes of non-stop extraordinary twirling which doing magic tricks of sorts with his many layers of clothing and gadgets; it was a sight to behold that drew the crowd to its feet.
The final day was the most star-studded, including showstoppers Zeba Bakhtiar and cricketers Umar Gul and Younus Khan during the Cara collection showing. Once again silver was prevalent here, even in this western wear collection, as well as the showcasing of sherwanis worn with shalwars or pants, as well as jacket-sherwanis.
Monia Farooqi closed the main shows with silver-ivory and moved into block colours with showstoppers Mani and Hira. A stunning-red bridal clad Komal Rizvi sang Lambi Judaai to a dance choreographed by her brother as Javed Sheikh joined her at the tail end of her performance in the role of a father giving away the bride. The show segued into a grand fashion finale titled The Grand Couturiers showcasing 14 top industry designers including Amir Adnan, Shamaeel Ansari, Sana Safinaz, HSY, Mehdi, Neelo Allawala, Maheen Khan, Faiza Samee, Deepak Perwani, Nomi Ansari, Shehla Chatoor, Rizwan Beyg, The House of Kamiar Rokni, Umar Sayeed, Nilofer Shahid and Bunto Kazmi. Pop icon Alamgir sang the house down and closed the night on what was a truly memorable note.
