‘Shaan-i-Pakistan’, declared the invite, and the name itself is calculated to raise expectations. It hints at a show specially curated to showcase Pakistan’s very best creative talents; stellar fashion, art, music, literature, et al. It is a platform that ambitiously claims to place Indian and Pakistani artistry together on a single stage, working on improving cultural ties between both countries, while also possibly opening up cross-border business opportunities. The concept even incites patriotism and the eagerness to show the world at large — and our volatile neighbouring country particularly — the spectacular burgeoning talent within Pakistan.

And yet, Pakistan didn’t have many proud moments in Shaan-i-Pakistan’s third edition held recently in Karachi. The sole focus of the event was on a fashion show featuring an ostensibly limited designer line-up. The Indian contingent was supplied by Rimple and Harpreet Narula who have designed the costumes for Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movie Padmaavat and brought in a collection intriguingly titled ‘The Padmaavat Experience’. Pakistan played its trump card with a well-conceived collaborative show by designers Amir Adnan and Huma Adnan. Also showcasing were relatively new designers Komal Chawla and Reema Ahsan with unremarkable spins on wedding-wear. Shaan-i-Pakistan? Not very.

“It is important to give newcomers a chance because how else will they one day grow into becoming fashion titans?” pointed out Huma Nassr, the founder and CEO of the platform.

It’s difficult orchestrating an event dedicated to a cause as tricky as strengthening Indo-Pak cultural ties

Yes, but is it necessary to give these chances on a platform being shared with another country? We have ample — in fact, more than enough — fashion weeks that can groom new designers and help them improve. Why should a show, that is going to pique international curiosity because it tackles the contentious Indo-Pak border, make this sacrifice?

Couldn’t promising new designers have been chosen at least? Could the hair and make-up — devised by Rose Beauty Parlour as blatantly informed by a large board placed squarely in the catwalk’s background — not have been so ghastly? We have so many accomplished hair and make-up artists and designers who are truly Pakistan’s pride. Barring Amir Adnan and Huma Adnan, the motley crew rustled together at the Shaan-i-Pakistan show certainly were not.

It is unfortunate, for the Shaan-i-Pakistan show held definite promise when it first started out a few years ago. The first event had been orchestrated in Delhi back in 2015, boasting well-known Pakistani ateliers such as Umar Sayeed, Ali Xeeshan and Zainab Chottani. The second was in Lahore in 2016, enticingly titled ‘Kya Dilli, Kya Lahore’. The three-day event had included a musical night that had included performances by Coke Studio stars Mai Dhai and Asrar as well as India’s Rekha Bhardwaj, an exhibit with retailers from both India and Pakistan and a fashion show with a line-up of designers from India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Bollywood actress Zeenat Aman had made an appearance on the catwalk as a celebrity showstopper and the guest list had been glittery, with musicians, actors and Lahore’s social set in full attendance.

Fast forwarding to the recent show, the hype and hoopla has nosedived. The three-day long activities started off with a soiree on the first day, a fashion show on the second that had some art activities interspersed here and there, and an exhibit of the ‘Padmaavat experience’ at a local five star hotel on the third. It was strange that most of Karachi’s fashion and entertainment fraternity had opted to skip out on the event altogether. The guest list was thin with the star quotient provided solely by the considerable celebrity showstoppers on the catwalk. The High Commissioner of India had flown in from Islamabad to attend the show, but this was hardly the sort of show one wanted to boast about to a foreign government.

“We invited everybody and it is unfortunate that they didn’t want to show their support by making even a small appearance,” says Huma. “We consciously didn’t create much hype this time because, given the current Indo-Pak situation, we have to encounter a lot of red tape when planning out an event like this. It takes so much effort to procure visas for the visitors and, then, we have to ensure their security. And yet, what this platform truly needs right now is the support of people within Pakistan. It’s difficult orchestrating an event dedicated to a cause as tricky as strengthening Indo-Pak cultural ties. This time, we didn’t have the support of big sponsors which is one of the reasons why things were a bit low-scale. We also approached a large number of local designers but they didn’t want to come on board for some reason or the other. The show still did go on.”

But a show like this needs to go on in a certain way. The organisers felt that the main highlight of the event this time were the Padmaavat designer duo, but so much more could have been done. At least experienced models who knew their way on a catwalk could have been hired rather than an assortment of girls who didn’t know where to stand or how to pose. Even if they couldn’t rustle together a stellar line-up, they could have at least worked on better styling and better timings.

According to Huma, another reason why the show was smaller this time is that it is only the first part of a montage that will continue on later in the year. She is planning to bring in a major Indian designer to Lahore this September and, then, orchestrate a show in India towards the tail-end of the year.

One hopes that these next few shows follow higher standards. More than 10-odd years ago, an omnibus called the Carnival de Couture had spun out three successive shows that had also dabbled with Indo-Pak aesthetics, but with much better effect. Indian fashion bigwigs such as Manish Malhotra, Tarun Tahiliani, Suneet Varma and Rohit Bal had been invited to rub shoulders with local fashion’s crème de la crème such as Rizwan Beyg, Sana Safinaz, Nilofer Shahid and Faiza Samee. One hazily recalls a canopy resplendent with stars set over a glamorous stage. Bollywood glitterati would fly in to attend — the likes of Arjun Rampal, Shilpa Shetty, Urmila Matondkar and Milind Soman. It wasn’t small-scale, it was carefully planned and it was the best of Pakistani fashion, easily enthralling the local audience as well as the Indian visitors.

A show called ‘Shaan-i-Pakistan’, which had started on a promising note but now seems to be downsliding, needs to deliver the same.

Published in Dawn, ICON, May 20th, 2018