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A match made in heaven
Fashion and cellphones. Not the most obvious of combinations. That is, unless the courting cell phone in question happens to be a sartorial masterpiece of technological craftsmanship and that too in the femininity-friendly avant-garde of hot pink. Well then, fashion is in love, and it’s a match made in heaven. And like all divinely-ordained matches, their coupling produces an appropriately eclectic brood.
Five designers, the progeny of different schools of thought in fashion — Maheen Khan, Nomi Ansari and Usman Dittu (women’s wear), and Imran Qureshi and Munib Nawaz (menswear), were asked by a cellphone manufacturer to headline a show marking the style-garlanded arrival of its latest fashion model. The show was held at Karachi’s Expo Centre.
The fashion procession was thrown open with Maheen Khan’s black collection, a theme the designer adhered to with a religious literalness. The mood of the pieces was voluminous and flowing. To cite a few examples, there were long coats, a kameez worn with a gharara, a tapering Patiala shalwar worn with an ultra-short top, and a monotone sari with a couple of lonesome embroidered flowers floating uneasily in the black void.
Black voraciously consumed not only the outfits, but also the effect of the collection as a whole. It made one wonder how a designer as established and esteemed as Maheen Khan — who has been working since 1968 and has a revered position in the Fashion Council that is shaping up in Karachi — could have such a limited sense of textures and cuts. She seemed to be designing for her own generation. The sagging silhouettes, the tone-clashing fabric combinations, the grandma’s ear warmers as accessories, and the leg warmers as pajamas often had the effect of making the models look like glorified chimney sweeps.
There were times when the collection momentarily heaved itself up from the sooty pit of mediocrity. One instance of that was the boost of an effect rather than a particular ensemble: drenched in coal tar from top to toe but with a vividly uni-hued lining, the kameez shot off pleasant flashes of colour as its hemline fluttered. Other highlights included an elaborately embroidered kimono-evoking peignoir and a lacy bolero-cum-cape hybrid, but they only underscored the dismalness of the rest.
The women’s wear gave way to menswear, and the murkiness gave way to one of the brightest collections of the night. Imran Qureshi, a graduate from the second batch of the Pakistan School of Fashion Design in Lahore and presently a teacher at the Asian Institute of Fashion Design in Karachi, staged his latest blockbuster from the house of Red, a line of street wear for the discerning metrosexual. Comprising shirts, jackets, coats, pants, and jeans, his repertoire remained tightly stitched to the staples of casual wear. His creativity, however, knew no bounds.
This was Imran’s second showing since he started his label early last year, and with this collection, he seemed to pick up where he left off. Trousers remain his canvas of choice, for they truly bring out the artist in him. The brushstrokes of high fashion were visible in the details: pocket linings of cream leather splashed atop a dark pant thigh; slim strips of embellishment dribbling down the side seams; and upturned pant cuffs of a brazenly different pattern from the main. The element of colour was injected without upping the femme quotient, using armbands and satchel straps with vibrant motifs (made by budding designer Ambreen Khan) cutting across the outfits. True to form, Imran’s philosophy remained hitched to wearability even while courting avant-garde.
The ladies then made another grand entrance, this time draped in Usman Dittu’s new range of formal evening wear, which the designer termed elegantly glamorous. And it’s not hard to see why: Usman’s catwalk glittered with the sort of golden classics that he is famous for. There were saris, shalwar-kameez suits with pants, billowing bell-bottoms, and even a western-style dress or two that were lit with Swarovski crystals, sequins, and embroidery. This collection of classics provided a glimpse of his potential for originality in cut, the most outstanding example of which was a simple triple-storied silver cape.
His combinations such as gray with salmon, wheat and bronze with aqua, and magenta with peach, demonstrated deftness with the palette. Also, the clothes seemed to be painted onto the models’ figures.
The subsequent runway rotation ushered in the men again, modelling designer Munib Nawaz’s take on gothic sunrise. Munib presented a line of flamboyant showpieces that could only have been carried off by Mick Jagger in Studio 54, or better yet, Govinda in one of his dance routines. A pink suit worn over a red tank top, a yellow coat worn over a pink silk shirt, and a Khaadi-esque striped coat over a purple shirt — and that’s just a sampler. Munib’s clothes caught a wild ride on his over-active imagination.
Nominated for a Lux Style Award in 2004 for best menswear designer, this young entrant into fashion has got the spirit of experimentation, but now needs to reign in his love for drama and concentrate on bringing his clothes within the realm of practicality, which is of particular importance in the case of menswear in Pakistan. After all, on stage, Elton John’s wardrobe is a blast, but few men are inspired to adopt it as their own. The fungal fantasia of his collection did emit a couple of mutated spores of aptitude, such as in the design of a suit jacket with an unexpected princess cut and a soft red motif down the panel’s edge, as well as in a puffed-up cravat that could serve as a more interesting alternative to the conventional tie. More of that needs to be cultivated.
And finally, the women came aboard for one final round as they displayed Nomi Ansari’s white line, which he called the fun collection, his concessions to “fun” being strips of mini-pompoms attached at the hems and holes cut out of a couple of dupattas and skirts. On the whole it was a decidedly good collection by one of the sharpest young minds in fashion today.
Nomi used the building blocks of white cottons, chiffons, and silks to construct a diverse complex of garments with everything from chic pedal-pushers to his perennial favourite, the Patiala shalwars. There were variations and fusions and transformations: a descriptive snapshot of even a cross-section would be inadequate because each new appearance on the runway was a surprise, as he worked his way through a gamut of familiar cuts. Of particular interest were the small flourishes, such as rose-accented headbands, wide chokers, and disco ball earrings, which were a marked improvement over previous such attempts to accessorize.
And so came to an end the fashion parade. The key figures came on stage to take the final bows. There was Imran Kureishi, the choreographer (who had whittled the walk down to a straightforward march ahead and back). There was Musarrat Misbah of Depilex, the make-up and hair artist (who had used the dark colours of winter but in a matte tone to give a softer, more pleasing look). And there were the male and female models, a truly ragtag bunch.
A number of male models (Daniyal, Sohail Sameer, Ali Tabish, etc) had come specially from Lahore to lend their looks to the show However, when one considers that Karachi boasts top ramp models like Ameer Zeb Khan and Farhan Qureshi, one wonders why anyone would need to rope in talent from elsewhere. The latter was not even present, but Ameer Zeb, as usual, continued to demonstrate how persuasively he owned the runway.
On the other hand, the female side was supported by a bevy of local lovelies, some super some not. For some reason, however, many of the girls didn’t seem to have their heart in it, or even the skills for it, for that matter. Even the usually indefatigable Vaneeza Ahmed seemed out of sorts, while others (who shall not be named) looked positively bloated — and waddled on stage accordingly. Some were just plain inappropriate. The saving grace was an uncredited glamazon of gorgeousness from Dubai named Jayjay who left everyone mesmerized. But still, one wished they had imported some of Ather Shahzad’s beauties instead.
The fashion extravaganza over, the event gave way to an auction of a diamond-encrusted hot pink Motorola Razor V3 the proceeds of which were to go to charity. This was followed by a performance by the band Strings.
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