It’s always exciting to witness the work of young designers who are just starting out in fashion.

Untainted by commercialism, unscathed by fashion critics and untouched by vanity and pride, they hold a lot of promise and exhibit an unbridled passion for design — sometimes even going beyond themselves in their enthusiasm to impress, much like a young foal learning to stand on its legs and walk for the first time.

These rare attributes become scarce in the fashion fraternity as time passes and experience is gained, accolades are garnered, confidence replaces the urge to please and impress, and the never-ending weary cycle of creation after creation unravels to keep the wheels of fortune turning, ultimately taking a toll on sheer creativity and freedom of imagination.

All this and more was witnessed at the Winter Fashion Gala (WFG) recently held at the Russian Friendship Centre in Karachi, where refreshing fashion start-ups presented their collections. Everything was new and shiny at WFG, from the runway to the banner to the models, many of whom had youth scrubbed into their faces, to the make-up team and even the designers and the choreographer.

The recently held Winter Fashion Gala brought together lesser known design talent on a single platform and managed to pleasantly surprise

This newness made things much more exciting, challenging and unpredictable than the now-extinct fashion council-led fashion weeks with experienced designers. You almost felt sorry for a model when she made a wrong turn or fumbled with her dress, or faced a wardrobe malfunction, not that there were too many of them.

You could also sense the anxiety of the designers as they walked down the ramp with their models and showstoppers in tow, towards the end of their show. You almost wanted to pat their back and tell them everything would be alright and their collection wasn’t bad at all — in fact, infinite times better than many established designers and fashion brands.

But you couldn’t do that of course. All you could do was just sit back and enjoy the show unravel and unfold before you and hope you made the right choice by attending a newbie fashion platform with so many fashion-related novices.

In most cases, the fashion did not disappoint. In fact, on a surprising note, it displayed a certain maturity in design element which made one wonder if, as a fashion critic, one needs to explore other, more promising avenues more frequently than the standard, safer fashion old guard.

Just the way a certain design was incorporated into a line of clothing made one sit up and take notice, amazed at the way we sometimes overlook things right under our very noses.

For example, menswear designer Zubair Shah, in his culture-based thematic grand finale, chose to show short kurtas made from the colourful handwoven khaddi fabric called susi that is readily available at weekly Sunday Bazaars at throwaway prices, and which hardly anybody casts a second look at it.

Paired with dhoti shalwars with Sindhi embroidered panels, another Sunday Bazaar staple, it created fashion magic to spectacular effect. That is the mettle good designers are made of, picking commonly found items and crafting them to create masterpieces.

Shah also transformed the traditional Sindhi ajrak into a long coat, with perfect symmetry in design, which he then presented to the Russian Centre director Ruslan Mikhailovich Prokhorov as a symbol of gratitude for his hospitality and a gesture of goodwill.

By entering mainstream fashion, the gymwear and sportswear brand Ibex debunked the myth that sportswear cannot be a fashion mainstay.

Students of the graduating class of National Textile University also used the WFG platform to display their final thesis project and, while the collection left a lot to be desired, just the fact that the fashion event provided a much-needed platform to the fledgling designers to display their final project on the fashion runway was commendable.

It reminded one of the good old days, when a corporate-sponsored Rising Talent segment at the PFDC Fashion Week in Lahore paved the way for the infusion of fresh, young blood in the country’s fashion design fraternity.

Similarly, transitioning from a senior supermodel to show director and choreographer, Aasif Rehmaan took up the challenge and proved his mettle with complex, interesting formations on the WFG ramp, at times even outperforming and surpassing the designer’s creativity on the runway.

Bridals become boring when consumed in large doses and WFG, mindful of this, kept them at a bare minimum — two to be precise. Of the two, Seema Shams Bridals stood out with its elegant and handcrafted timeless heirloom pieces with chatta-patti borders, zari and kiran lace trimmings on luxe fabrics.

Overall, the final verdict on WFG is that, with time, patience and experience, the players and everyone involved with the platform will learn a lot through sheer trial and error, no doubt. This has been the case in many instances before it, some of which have now become defunct while others continue to flourish and thrive.

For now, as mentioned earlier, just sit back and enjoy the ride, and let the business of fashion go about its business.

The WFG show direction and choreography was by Aasif Rehmaan, with Natalia Karanjia as the Green Carpet host and YouTube channel iPlus News HD host Syeda Nazia as the co-host. Hair & make-up of the female models and grooming of the male models was by Ilyas Salon and ETN-ECS as the beauty partner. The styling of all the models was by Zurain Imam, while backstage management was by Akbar Mirza Sharif. Students of the fashion journalism class at the Institute of Business Management (IoBM) served as the green carpet and front stage ushers, and backstage helpers.

Published in Dawn, ICON, March 3rd, 2024