KARACHI: Wednesday, the second day of Fashion Pakistan Week Spring/Summer ’19 featured high-street brands Generation, Gul Ahmed Ideas Pret, Al-Karam Studio and Generation besides luxury wear.

Generation kicked off with ‘No Nonsense Nighat’, a revolutionary ready-to-wear collection that underlined the base argument that desi is not the opposite of chic and emphasised the cultural uniqueness of local culture. From jumpsuits to kameezes, Patiala shalwars to saris, it encapsulated it all in cottons and hand-woven fabrics with bold colours and prints. The styling featuring parandas proved to be the proverbial cherry on top of this very summer-friendly sundae.

Yasmin Zaman with her collection titled ‘Zéke’ (Aramaic for ‘shooting star’ or ‘spark’) focused on destination weddings with fluidity in style and in her clothes for which she sought inspiration from Van Gogh’s A Starry Night for her tie-dye colour palette.

The result was fascinating to say the least, especially when coupled with strictly western silhouettes immersed in shades of turquoise, emerald and sea green. Hira Tareen walked for the designer in a deep blue off-shoulder showstopper number with a gold embellished sash.

Nauman Arfeen’s ‘Har Shaakh Pe Ullu Baitha Hai’ (Let the Wise Guide You) juxtaposed cottons with denim fabric with owl effigies incorporated in the design element to drive home the essence of the theme. All in all, on a score of one to 10, the collection managed to score a somewhat decent and respectable 7. Actor and host Faysal Quraishi walked the ramp for the designer.

Ideas Pret by Gul Ahmed, inspired by Mughal miniatures, presented ‘The Floral Raj’, Victorian-esque Western wear with choice embellishments and puffed, peep-shoulder cascading sleeves. The fusion of Victorian glasshouses for linear structure and Mughal art was writ large in the designs.

‘Mak O’Keeffe’ by Al Karam Studio was all about unabashed, fearless and truly visionary artistic endeavours, and inspired by the revolutionary American artist, modernist and visionary, Georgia O’Keeffe. Light-hearted and simplistic, the collection by Ather Hafeez drove home the fact that you don’t have to be over-the-top to draw attention to yourself. Sometimes plain and simple, and in this particular case bold and abstract, works and sells just as well.

‘Lost in the Forest’ by Obaid Shaikh remained true to its title, in that its utility was largely ‘lost’ on the audience. The collection was too inconsistent and incoherent, with a very basic design element that did not go down well with fashion critics. Actor Fahad Mirza walked for the designer. Concept­ualisation remained a definite problem here as well.

Conceivement and visualisation were the others. Considering the fact that the designer has been around for some time now but has yet to make his mark on the scene, one can say he’s not out of the woods (read ‘forest’) yet.

In stark contrast, Boheme by Kanwal’s ‘Kun Faya Kun’ was either all about really smart marketability or the designer seems to have finally found her niche. She kept the silhouette strictly eastern with voluminous angarkha-style shirts in hand-woven local fabric with front and back deep necklines edged with triangular appliqué work that stood out in stark contrast. The spiritual and Sufi-inspired presentation remained energetic as model after model — both male and female — attacked the ramp wearing everything from tunics to saris and more. Sanam Saeed made an appearance towards the end of the segment.

The final act on Day 2, Sania Maskatiya showcased the black and ivory luxe evening wear collection that she took to New York Fashion Week as part of the Council of Aspiring American Fashion Designers showcase. High on fashion and flair, the intense iridescent look it created won her rave reviews earlier abroad and now on home ground as well.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2019