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Stars and Stripes
Fashion is often called frivolous. Blue-blooded academics dismiss it as being shallow, fluttery, and self-involved. Then an event like the recent benefit for the World Aids Campaign (an initiative of the World Health Organization) held in Karachi comes along, and unveils its surprisingly conscientious and magnanimous side. And the style centurions are redeemed.
Though marked on the invite as a seminar on the present scourge of Aids in the country, the show was essentially a forum to draw people’s attention to and build awareness of the much-heard-about but little-acknowledged immuno-deficiency disease by dressing up the grave issue in the glamorous attention-grabbing garb of a fashion parade. Designers Moazzam Abbasi (women’s wear) and Alam Najiullah of Cotton & Cotton (menswear) presented their latest collections at this charity show in which style met scholarship.
The evening began with a series of addresses by dignitaries from the fields of medicine and government involved in studying and combating Aids in Pakistan. The speakers included Dr Srichand Ochhani, Zahid Syed, Dr Sharaf Ali Shah, Dr Farhana Memon, Dr M. Ashraf Sadique, Mahtab Akbar Rashidi, G.N. Qazi, and Shah Wali Ullah. They talked about the characteristics of the disease, its development, modes of transmission and incidence, and in the process revealed some interesting yet unsettling factoids about the nation’s state of health. For example, the unofficial number of people suffering from Aids in Pakistan is over 70,000; and only 20 per cent of blood transfusions (a common method of contracting the disease) are imputed to volunteer donors, one of the groups least likely to be infected (in Iran their share is 100pc).
After the prolonged cautionary speeches, the audience was definitely in need of some mental refreshment. That’s when the lights grew dim and the spotlight revealed Iraj, striking a dramatic pose in a startlingly bridal red sari (emblematic of the universal red Aids ribbon) and throwing open the fashion pageant. The march of the strutters began. One after another, the procession of lovely ladies draped snugly in Moazzam Abbasi’s formals and semi-formals was interspersed with a team of male models flaunting Cotton & Cotton’s latest threads for the modern man. The choreography adhered to New York Fashion Week simplicity that’s strangely lacking in the shows here. The models walked up one at a time, giving the audience an opportunity to take in the clothes without having their attention cluttered with needless histrionics on the stage. For that, credit should be given to Adnan Ansari, who made sure that each segment of the multi-tiered, gender-alternating display flowed seamlessly into the next.
The choreography adhered to New York Fashion Week simplicity. The models walked up one at a time, giving the audience an opportunity to take in the clothes without needless histrionics
The idea of a graceful transition was maintained by the designer whose women’s wear was inspired by the traditional Sindhi jewellery known as jarao (ornament) embedded in cotton silks and georgettes in the basic primary and secondary colours of red, blue, green, black, orange and maroon. He steered clear of traditional thread embroidery this time and instead bedecked his designs with stones, diamantes and sequences. “I wanted to bring out the different moods of the colours,” he explained backstage just before the show, cool and in total control — a sight in stark contrast with the typical behind-the- scenes hullabaloo. Positioning the gem adornments to be the star of his collection, he purposely kept the cuts and drapes simple. There was a predominance of short sleeveless shirts, with trousers, hiked-up capris, saris and shararas among others — all traditional fare.
Moazzam focused his creativity on the glitter: the baubles appeared in delicate sprinkles, charming clusters, classic borders and original motifs all over the monotone frames of his clothes. Standouts from the collection included one particular sky-blue shalwar kameez with a chequered front and many looped tassels that created the illusion of a shimmering wave with every movement. His shows always contain at least one sure-shot lady-pleasing trend igniter. This time, there were two — dupattas ending with a wide satin border and large shalwar cuffs the size of half sleeves — soon to be copied rapaciously by local darzis.True to form, Moazzam kept alive the characteristic fusion sensibilities of his clothes. He is the designer to go to for simple and sophisticated, contemporary clothes that don’t rock the boat of conventionality.
Much the same could be said for Cotton & Cotton designer, Alam Najiullah, who showed an impressive collection of shirts, suits, sweaters, chinos and shalwar pajamas that dispelled the impression of the label as a stodgy purveyor of standardized shirts.
Targeting the corporate guy, who Alam felt, had been neglected in the race to capture the younger age bracket, the clothes and indeed the overall look projected the mature confidence of a well-settled conformist with a refined taste. Stripes and small checks in a straightforward colour palette dominated the designs, but there was a line of absolutely divine shirts with white-on-white flower-like motifs woven into the fabric that could easily snare the youth as well.Alam comes armed with an extensive history of export along with in-depth knowledge of and research into textiles. His clothes were stitched using some of the most luxurious fabric, including cotton from Italy and cashmere from Mongolia. The shimmering richness of the cloth on the ramp could be discerned all the way down in the audience.
The elegance of the clothes was accompanied by understated styling. The female models, with runway-kohl eyes and strawberry lips, had been done up uniformly by Saima’s creative team. Image-maker Khawar Riaz, who had been flown in specially and who, like many other participants, had contributed his services gratis to the altruistic effort, gave the men a golden glow of bustling health.
The uncomplicated catwalk routine did not put too great a demand on the models’ prancing skills. Iraj looked striking in her shoulder-length mane while other runway stars included Sunita Marshall, Rubab and Zhallay Sarhadi. Of the rest, newcomer Maha made a good impression with her stratospheric height and slender figure.
The men on the ramp held their own against the women. Ameer Zaib Khan is perhaps the most adept on the catwalk, with an easy confidence and a streak of showmanship that belie his newbie status. Abdullah who had come all the way from Lahore for the show uncapped his new platinum blond crop. Among the non-celebs, there was one who definitely deserves to be mentioned — Farhan Qureshi — who has a commanding presence on the ramp and makes the clothes he wears come alive.After the clothes came the crooners. Fuzon closed the event with some of their best-loved renditions, putting pop’s seal of approval on the evening’s charitable cause.
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