The two-day Telenor Fashion Weekend held at the Royal Palm Golf & Country Club in Lahore was a celebration of prêt and pop culture, opening with Overload’s charged performance to Batti Aaye ya na Aaye and Neeray aa Zalima Ve.

Day one saw ChenOne’s resort wear transform into luxe while fashion label Erum Khan’s luxury prêt collection Medallion Dusk and Lahore Prêt by Faika Karim’s seemed more couture that prêt in styling and presentation. Eden Robe had its S/S collection presented by an adorable bunch of kids who walked the length of the ramp with admirable courage. Had they been within reaching distance, I’m sure many would have had their cheeks pinched. Deviating from the norm was the fashion brand Breakout which paid homage to the victims of Peshawar Attack with a collection titled For the Brave.

The Pakistan Institute of Fashion & Design (PIFD) graduates showcase, Telenor Karo Mumkin, awarded eight students for their fantasy creations, four on each day: Aneeqa Karim (Darkness against Light), Fatima Basirat (Be Still my Soul), Noor-ul-Ain Zafar (Discovering Michael Jackson), Zainab Zulfiqar (The Tragic Fall of an Ostracised Queen — Marie Antoinette), Asrar Yaqoob (The Art of Camel Decoration — inspired by the nomads of Cholistan), Harris Masood (Dear Dorothy), Momal Zia (Being Incomplete — Isolation of Nepal’s Honey Hunters) and Hassan Riaz’s belted and buckled Affrontement Avec L’ Agony. Towards the end, fashion brand Rang Ja used vibrant colours and ethnic embroideries to give its own unique twist to truck art.

Lahore welcomes summer and hosts the first prêt showcase of 2015

On Day two, Urban Culture’s roundup representation of military trends elicited audience response on account of the ongoing army operation against terrorism, while Harmony’s print shirts for women may not have been ramp show material but will definitely fly off the racks for sheer practicality alone. Pareesa by ChenOne closed day two by showing its print paradise collection.

There is no disputing the fact that most of the fashion brands that displayed their collections are retail giants, but what was urgently needed was that extra something to jazz up the presentations and the show itself which almost appeared to have been executed almost as an afterthought. The whole exercise of getting designers and labels on board a two-day fashion extravaganza, inviting socialites and fashionistas and with some even flown in from another city, would somehow seem more legitimate if the show dynamics are more fine-tuned. Otherwise, all that remains is a half-hearted attempt at creating programming content, with the loose ends tightened up and tucked away in the editing room.

Eventually, the participating brands and labels will benefit from the exercise by getting local and international projection when it airs. All the more need then to stress the point that if something needs to be done, it should be done right.

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, March 1st, 2015

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