LAHORE: The third and concluding day of Bridal Fashion Week by Pakistan Fashion Design Council ended amidst a frenzy of fashion, glamour and glitz.

The early evening bridal showcase on the final day started with a solo show by MNR Design Studio which was followed by an early evening grouped bridal showcase featuring FAS and Noreen Neelam. This was followed by evening bridal showcases featuring a grouped bridal show comprising of Fahad Hussayn, Nickie Nina and Republic by Omar Farooq. The evening ended with a grand finale solo showcase by HSY.

The third and final day of the Bridal Week early evening bridal segment was opened by a solo show featuring MNR Design Studio with the bridal collection ‘Chahar Bagh’. The collection rooted its origin to the love for Islamic art and architecture. The designer conceived the idea of ‘Chahar Bagh’ and brought it to life with four distinct sides to the collection with the elements and silhouettes inspired from the Eastern culture and flora.

FAS Design Studio showcased the bridal collection titled ‘Parwana-i-Husan’. Inspired from the ornate dandelion motifs to reinvent Eastern and Western couture by redefining the classics, the collection comprised of delicate luxe fabrics with floral fiesta created with 3D fleurettes and micro-pleating. Using myriad fabrics and bright ornate embellishments, the collection featured ball gown silhouettes, shararas, ghararas, pleated peplums, variations in straight and long shirts for women, traditional sherwanis and waistcoats along with traditional turbans and royal embellished shoes.

Noreen Neelam made her ramp debut at the Bridal Week with her collection titled ‘Mumtaz Mahal’. Inspired by the most avant-garde period in the sub-continent history, the collection featured intricate mukaish immaculately blended with stone work, crystals, sheesha work, gota and dabka intertwined with the regality of luxurious velvets. The collection also featured bright coloured canvas enriched with fantasy and romance of intriguing zari, naqshi and tilla with gold foil handcrafted designs.

The evening bridal segment for the third and final day of the Bridal Week was opened by a grouped bridal showcase featuring Fahad Hussayn Imaginarium, who presented his bridal collection ‘Labyagawachi - The Musical’. The collection was a musical journey into the vast sceneries produced and directed by Fahad Hussayn, the showcase was a combination of multiple art forms and the labour of his love for art.

Nickie Nina presented their bridal collection ‘Gulabkaar’ as a tribute to the valiant Kashmiri People. The bridal collection was a conglomeration of cultures that celebrated the regal beauty, dynamic colors with unparalleled grace. Re-imagined with a contemporary twist, delicate gota embroidery and the wasli textures with crystal and mirror work surrounding bright and bold borders, the collection featured rose cut diamantes and gold and silver detailing. For the collection, precious pearls were intertwined amongst floral patterns in karchob, sequins and stones on the traditional chunri prints.

Republic by Omar Farooq showcased the formal wear collection ‘Adamah’. The collection explored the conflict and cohesion of structured nature.

Celebrating 25 years in fashion, Pakistan’s iconic couturier HSY staged the powerful grand finale of the Bridal Week with the brand’s new bridal couture collection ‘Empire’. The inspiration of the collection comes from four different empires namely; Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the French Polynesian Empire, and the Russian Empire. The collection was a manifestation of HSY’s love for history and travel. For ‘Empire’, HSY has traveled the whole year searching for unique motifs. However, all the embroideries come from Pakistan when it comes to technique - Dhaga embroidery, Resham Kora and Naqshi Kada.

“We wanted to create a collection that consists of both heavy and light bridals,” said HSY.

“We want to adopt to the changing situation in Pakistan and cater to a wider audience with different price ranges. Also, over the years, we have a growing and young clientele; we want to cater to them too. But saying that every piece is very elegant, old school, timeless and always classic at HSY. For this collection, we are experimenting with both lighter and darker shades and have created strong pieces for both women and men. In 25 years, we are trying to restructure and bring fashion which is truly wearable because I strongly believe that fashion today is more about wearability than it has ever been before.”

Published in Dawn, September 29th, 2019