March 16, 2003

With the second ceremony around the corner and nominations for all the categories announced, one is sure there is excitement in the air for quite a few people in the Lux Style Awards event. While the awards may have a long way to go before acquiring the importance of a prestigious international ceremony, one must admit that it is the first of its kind in Pakistan recognizing talent in the broad field of style.

After the hype created by last year’s programme, one wonders what the expectations of the nominees are this year, not to mention the views of those who were not nominated, or didn’t even bother to submit an entry. Speaking to a few movers and shakers in the world of style, one gets an insight into their views. Particularly interesting are the opinions of those who were nominated last year as well as this year and who also form part of the judging committee in the coming ceremony.

Deepak Perwani is one such example, nominated in the category of men’s design. He claims that while he is sure the event will be an “amazing” one and vastly improved from last year, he also admits to being completely unexcited by the calibre of portfolios that he scrutinized as a member of the awards panel. He states, “It will be a long time before the quality of our portfolios improves. The effort put in was very half-hearted and it appeared like many designers had just entered wedding photographs. There was one entry which a journalist on the panel recognized had a year old photograph in it, and another two portfolios that boasted an identical outfit! Some entries, like in the make-up category, were positively hideous.”

 

It would be better for the programme if the suggestions offered are incorporated in it. An event that aspires to become an annual feature celebrating the country’s talent should tackle the institution of awards with the integrity it deserves
 

And to what does Perwani attribute the non-serious attitude of the nominees this year? He feels that last year’s awards ceremony concentrated more on the glamour aspect to impress the millions of viewers who watched it on television, and less on the seriousness of the awards. This turned off many aspiring candidates. “This year, skepticism has set in and many people established in their fields, like Amir Adnan, didn’t submit entries at all, while others had a nonchalant attitude. The result is that a lot of nobodies are nominated this year. I myself only entered for the men’s wear category and that too, because I was forced to do so.”

Amir Adnan, however, has another explanation for not entering his portfolio this year. He says “Last year, I had no idea what the event was going to be like. I had received just one call and had been told that everyone was sending in portfolios. It was the first time that such an event was being organized and I thought we should all encourage it. However, while I still think that it’s a great idea, I feel that this kind of an awards ceremony should be aimed at encouraging newcomers in the field. People who have just started out shouldn’t be judged in the same category as established professionals. The organizers keep comparing the event to the Oscars, although that is a different ball game altogether. In London, too, the best designer of the year award always goes to new designers and established ones are never considered for the award.”

Speaking to Shaiyanne Malik, who did not submit entries both years, one gets another perspective. She feels “A so-called style mafia that is always trying to promote its own favourites is in control of the awards, so what is the point in participating in something like this? The grapevine has it that promises were made to certain designers even before they got them to submit their portfolios.”

On the other hand, Sonya Battla, nominated for women’s wear, seems to have quite a relaxed attitude towards the awards. As she puts it, “I think it’s great that the organizers have provided us a platform from which to show our work. As for the awards, I never had much expectation to begin with — after all, these are not national awards, so it shouldn’t matter if certain people are promoted and others aren’t.”

Be that as it may, Perwani has a suggestion that might be worth the organizers’ while to consider for the next time, if they want to establish a reputation of fair judging. He feels that rather than having the portfolios short-listed by a board of governors who may be experts in one field or the other, and then having the nominations further adjudged by a panel of 60-odd judges including eminent journalists, the format should be the other way round.

States Perwani “I think journalists are in a much better position to judge the portfolios and they should do the initial short-listing rather than anyone else. Often, portfolios are not an accurate reflection of a person’s achievements and can be very deceptive, at times to the applicant’s advantage and sometimes to their disadvantage. For instance, we were surprised that Mubashir’s portfolio never made it to our panel at all. Similarly, I feel that Sonya Battla’s cuts are amazing, but because her outfits have no embellishments, they don’t appear as glamorous as those by other designers.”

Imran Qureshi, a member of the judging panel this year, though, is of the opinion that the board of governors should comprise seniors from the fashion industry who are well entrenched in the world of fashion and not interested in contesting for awards. He also feels that currently the portfolios adhere to no specific format, so that they vary drastically from say, four photographs to professionally produced CDs. He opines “There should be a set criteria and format for the portfolios if one wishes to judge nominees fairly.”

Speaking on much the same lines is Safinaz, nominated for bridal wear. She claims that although the awards ceremony is a great idea for Pakistan, she had felt even last year that people who were not acquainted with the fashion industry had been made judges. “Take the male model award that went to a person who hadn’t even modelled for a whole year. Many people had submitted old photographs of shoots and fashion shows and had gotten away with it. So we haven’t worked on our portfolio at all, and admit that it is weak. Also, I feel that if the event is to be held, it should be done well. The affair was very disorganized last year, beginning hours late, and the awards ceremony was full of major glitches.”

On the other hand, Umar Sayeed, nominated for women’s wear, is extremely excited about the awards ceremony and states enthusiastically “I feel it is a great step that fashion is finally being recognized after so many years and a fallout of it is bound to be an improvement in the quality of work put in by designers. There will undoubtedly be growth with competition and recognition, and newcomers will benefit. It doesn’t matter if controversies surround the programme, after all, which awards ceremony doesn’t face them? Even the Oscars have their fair share of hullabaloo and I’m quite sure that even 20 years down the road there will be complaints. I feel people should rise above their egos and appreciate the effort being put in.”

There have also been suggestions from those interviewed that there should be separate award categories for journalists and fashion choreographers. Another suggestion is that there should be set criteria for the women of substance category, and women of diverse backgrounds and achievements should not be lumped together. Similarly, professionals like Bunto Kazmi should not be placed in the same category as young and upcoming designers and their achievements should be acknowledged in a separate award segment.

It seems that those nominated through viewers’ choice though, are not so concerned about the organizers’ choice of judges or their decisions, and are just happy with the honour bestowed on them. Feryal Gohar, nominated for her performance in Chandni raatein claims to have been surprised by her nomination. “I have never taken myself seriously as an actor, so it was something that hit me out of the blue. I think it’s a healthy decision to let the viewers decide their favourites, and it gives them a sense of participation. Holding an awards ceremony is a brilliant idea and it should give a great impetus to the industry and give people an opportunity to reflect on their work.”

Similarly, Jawed Sheikh, nominated for his film Yeh dil aap ka hua feels that “It is a prestigious event and it is well-organized compared to other award ceremonies. The organizers seem to be working more professionally this time. I am sure this will be the biggest event of the year.”

By and large then, people seem to be of the opinion that the organizers have come up with an excellent idea and would like to see it become a permanent event. However, there is a strong feeling that the judging procedure still needs a lot of fine-tuning. Although one can see changes in the format since last year, it would be for the betterment of the programme if the suggestions offered this time round are also incorporated next year. After all, an event that aspires to become a prestigious annual feature celebrating the country’s talent should tackle the institution of awards with the integrity and seriousness it deserves. As for the ceremony itself, one won’t have to wait too long to see if the organizers have learnt from their past mistakes and improved on the show.

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