KARACHI: The three-day Fashion Pakistan Week ’17 Winter Festive under the Fashion Pakistan Council kicked off at the Global Marquee off Sharea Fai­sal on Tuesday with 18 established and emerging designers showcasing bridal and groom wear, luxury pret and festive wear. With six international models also a part of the shows, the FP Council also extended the opportunity to the participating designers to exhibit clothes at a chic fashion outlet located on the fashionable E Street the very next day.

Earlier on Monday, veteran couturier Shamaeel Ansari presented her Turkish-inspired collection ‘The Blue Tulip’ at a novel exhibition and possibly pioneering the concept of solo shows within fashion weeks. The creative fashion installation at a private venue featured 35 elaborately-crafted tunics and dresses with detailed intricate embroidery and cuts as well as a brief ramp presentation.

Day 1 featured collections by Misha Lakhani, Amna Aqeel, Erum Khan, Obaid Sheikh, Saira Rizwan, Suffuse, and Jaipur And Co.

Misha Lakhani’s ‘Bagh-o-Bahar’ was about modern Mughalism with influences of Persian and Central Asian themes in embroidery with indigenous Indian styles. Versatile and effortless best describes the collection which comprised gold tones in rich fabrics such as tissue and velvets besides pale whites and pastels. Volumi­nous Kashmiri tunics, saris and separates spelled classics all the way till the end.

Aamna Aqeel’s picturesque garden-scapes were replete with flora and fauna imagery on an ivory-inspired palette and muted tones of beige and pink and stark blacks emblazoned with bold embroideries and ruffles.

Erum Khan chose to show ‘The Bridal Od­ys­sey’ which wove a tale of modernism in mute greys and pastels while limiting herself to silver embellishments and the somewhat passé peplums in bridal cuts.

Obaid Sheikh’s ‘Husn Ara’ featured classic Eastern women’s wear from an earlier era. He was the only designer to show variations of the stark bridal red. He also showed a wide range of classic groom wear.

Saira Rizwan’s ‘Glitterati’ was deep hues and a sense of panache which the designer somewhat effortlessly wove into her bridal design spectrum.

Suffuse’s ‘Aesteria’ foc­used on dramatic drapery, bespoke pieces high on bling, modernism and cascading lengths in informals and bridals in mutes, neutrals, pastels and bejewelled whites.

The choreography on all days is by Frieha Altaf and hair and make-up by N-Pro and N-Gents.

Day 2 will showcase designs by Sanam Chaudhri, Wardha Saleem, Emraan Rajput, Sadaf Malaterre, HEM, Deepak Perwani while Day 3 will feature Tena Durrani, Nauman Arfeen, Saira Shakira, Adnan Pardesy, Maheen Khan and a grand finale by the powerhouse duo of Sana Safinaz. 

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2017