The models walked out in a riveting haze of colour, slogans emblazoned across their tunics, truck-art prints on their dresses, breezing down the catwalk in insouciant, chic summer-wear. It was classic Gulabo, the boutique brand helmed by veteran designer Maheen Khan, and it set Fashion Pakistan Week (FPW) off to a promising start. The very next day of the two-day event took off with yet another fashion forward act. This one was by Deepak Perwani, presenting the designer’s flair for creating immaculately cut apparel for the modern woman.

One wishes that these two opening showcases could have set the tone for the rest of FPW, but it didn’t. Sandwiched in between and afterwards were a slew of hit-and-miss shows. There were some brilliant debuts and the occasional interesting collection but there were also clothes that had no place on the catwalk.

The recently culminated spring/summer edition of FPW exemplified something that has increasingly become visible in the past few editions of the fashion week: forming the event’s DNA are designers who are experts in their fields. Maheen Khan has always been an important part of the Fashion Pakistan Council (FPC) and continues to play a vital role within its board. And fashion insiders know how tirelessly Perwani has worked for the council, in various capacities and, at present, as its chairman.

While this year’s spring/summer Fashion Pakistan Week (FPW) got off to a rollicking start, it didn’t manage to carry on with the momentum because of some clothes that had no place on the catwalk

But two designers, regardless of how dedicated and talented they are, cannot win rave reviews for an entire event. Also, while it is understandable that new brands need to be given a chance in the spotlight, certain collections sometimes turn out to be so disastrous that they can make an entire event look bad. In a country where fashion is still nascent and the trendy often collides with the garish, this is a predicament endured by many fashion events, and it was one that FPW faced this time.

Fashion Highs

Despite all of that, one can’t blame FPW for not trying. Maheen Khan and Deepak Perwani flew high with their respective openings and there were others who didn’t disappoint. The Pink Tree Company proved its prowess at creating Eastern-wear replete with classic techniques such as chata-pati, gota and block prints. Saira Shakira presented some standout contemporary wedding wear options. Nauman Arfeen’s monochrome lines and pops of green were eye-catching. Natasha Kamal created beautiful prints with marbled effects.

Cheena Chhapra presented some beautiful phulkari, kanta and block-prints. Her show could have been a hit had she played around with silhouettes and not opted to feature multiple women dancing on the stage, dholki-like. A show opting for plus-sized women instead of models is a great idea but a catwalk still has to be treated like one, and not like a wedding dance floor.

One wishes that Amir Adnan hadn’t faltered by showing winter-friendly styles, but there’s no denying his flair for cuts.

Farah Talib Aziz debuted on the first day with a collection that was true to her feminine signature and is bound to sell well. Fledgling brand Boheme By Kanwal proved its mettle with its debut ‘Kathputhli Tamasha’, presenting a well-honed impressive take on desi glamour.

All-Time Lows

Unfortunately, there were many other collections that were mundane and utterly forgettable and some that should not have been allowed on the catwalk. Why didn’t the FPC take a closer look at the collections created by Gogi By Hasan Riaz and Rozina Munib before including them in the line-up? Hasan Riaz’s designs — and more importantly, styling — were unfathomable and Rozina seemed to be under the impression that a fashion-forward collection needed to feature gowns galore, regardless of the fact that she may not know how to cut them well. A smaller designer line-up would have been better than an erroneous one.

Sadly, we live in the social media age where images from a single badly created collection can easily go viral on the Internet. Jokes may be cracked at its expense, Twitter memes may get created and ultimately, the hard work and good fashion featured on a platform may get overlooked just because of those few hapless images. Over the past few fashion-infested months, there have been a few times when a single collection has allowed fashion events to be ridiculed at large — a certain collection where grass seemed to be growing out of menswear comes to mind, as do the recent bawdy attempts at FPW. Now, more than ever, proper editing of collections has become necessary.

Social Causes

Also, quite visible at FPW was fashion’s all-new penchant for latching on to socially relevant narratives. Maheen Khan talked about ‘liberation’ and saving planet Earth, Cheena Chhapra supported plus-sized women, Hasan Riaz was on a mission to rail against child abuse, Nauman Arfeen took his bow along with participants of Special Olympics and Amir Adnan’s show featured seven hearing-impaired male models.

It was essentially reminiscent of the world that we live in and how it is becoming more and more important to advocate against social vices and work towards building a better future. Having said this, designers need to think things through when they latch on to the social media bandwagon. Hasan Riaz, for instance, sent out baskets as accessories proclaiming ‘Abuse’. How did that make sense?

Amir Adnan, on the other hand, made a thoughtful gesture by providing an opportunity to the hearing impaired. Nauman Arfeen’s take on patriotism met applause. And Maheen Khan’s models clutched their fists to their chests symbolising a pact to save the earth, with slogans running on a screen at the back.

The New Council

It all boiled down to a show replete with more misses and less hits. Nevertheless, it is evident that the council is making an effort, dabbling with changes in the hope to build a more streamlined event. For instance, this time the FPC board went through a number of changes, announcing photographer Tapu Javeri, designer Sana Hashwani, philanthropist Ronak Lakhani and politician Sherry Rehman as new members.

While the inclusion of the former two implied that they would be bringing their extensive fashion experience to the platform, the latter two could possibly have been brought in because of the clout that they wield. Both Ronak Lakhani and Sherry Rehman are part of Karachi’s upper crust and while they may lack extensive know-how of the fashion industry, they do bring a certain amount of gloss to the event.

But no amount of gloss and influence can compensate for an event where standards yo-yo far too often.

Published in Dawn, ICON, April 22nd, 2018