Pakistan’s first-of-its-kind fashion event titled Men’s Fashion Week (MFW) 2012 showcasing designers who specialise in menswear will take place from August 30 to September 1, 2012 in Karachi.

This was formally announced at a recent press conference held at The Dolmen Mall in Karachi that saw an experts’ panel comprising celebrated Lahore-based stylist Khawar Riaz, menswear designer Munib Nawaz, media management and PR sleuth Tehmina Khaled, event setup professional Rukaiya Nazir of R-Team, Style 360 and Hum TV Network representative Shanaz Ramzi and CEO Rampedge Network, Wasif Elahi.

“Pakistan is known for its strength in manufacturing menswear for the world’s leading brands and our menswear industry has also grown by leaps and bounds in the past decade or so, with an influx of talented designers and industry professionals. In such a scenario, there is a dire need for collaboration between manufacturers and designers — a bond MFW 2012 aims to develop and strengthen so that product development centres can be set up, which in turn will increase Pakistan’s export along with its position as a competitive producer,” said its creative director and spokesperson, Munib Nawaz.

On the one hand the purpose of the event is well-defined, i.e. to strengthen and bolster Pakistan’s fashion industry, and on the other foreign investors are all too aware of Pakistan’s potential for mass production says a press release handed out at the event. If so, then the carefully laid out dynamics and economics of such a fashion activity hold the promise and potential of turning around the lull and depression in economic activity being witnessed for so many years in the local production sector.

The fashion week is also slated as a sound platform for established and burgeoning male models. “The extensive male model search online at www.mfwpk.com, Facebook and Twitter will feature established top male models from both Karachi and Lahore to create a roster of approximately 60 male models who will be given an opportunity to highlight and focus their talents during the three-day event,” Munib Nawaz also pointed out.

“This will be a menswear event because in other shows they do not get enough space to showcase their talent. Here, men will be in command and we will be focusing on training new designers under the expert guidance of senior and experienced menswear designers such as Munib Nawaz and Amir Adnan, and bring out affordable prêt collections for men in the local market which is yet to be given its due recognition,” noted Tehmina Khaled.

The event that will boast the very best of the Pakistani fashion industry features visionary stylists Khawar Riaz and Nabila. Style 360 and Hum TV Network are the media partners while R-Team will be managing the setup. “June is also the time for Father’s Day and we are not forgetting them at all,” noted Rukaiya Nazir.

Speaking to Images on Sunday after the press conference, MFW Director Mansoor Vohra said, “I have assembled the best team there is — Khawar Riaz, Munib Nawaz, Nabila, Tehmina Khaled as they excel in their respective fields. We plan to do the event in a different manner altogether and there will be lots of drama for which we are going to have an expert choreographer. The choreographer of choice is yet to be decided by us.”

MFW 2012 will feature a sum total of 24 designers out of which 12 are established labels, eight are retail brands and four emerging designers.