The first fashion week held by Fashion Pakistan (FP) in October 2009 came soon after three of the Karachi-based council's members (Maheen Khan, Rizwan Beyg and Deepak Perwani) returned after showing at Milan Fashion Week. It brought an unprecedented international spotlight on the fashion industry in Pakistan. Some of the foreign media's angles on portraying fashion in Pakistan were full of clichés (fashion as a fight against the Taliban, etc) but now that FP is slated to host its second fashion week, we're hoping that the focus will remain on solely on the design aspect rather than its assumed political representation. The lineup for the coming fashion week includes big names in Pakistan's fashion industry such as Umar Sayeed, Sana Safinaz, Faiza Samee, Kamiar Rokni, Bunto Kazmi, Shamaeel Ansari, Maheen Khan and Deepak Perwani among others. Those in the upcoming designers' category include the likes of Fayez Agaria (who's been playing hide-and-seek with the local fashion scene for several years now), Sania Maskatia, Zaheer Abbas, Aziz Ali, Sana Rizwan, Anum Siraj, Zaiena Haider and Summaiya Warsi.
The organisers are changing the format of the event to include participation from the textile industry, namely fabric manufacturers, etc. Names have not been revealed as yet. The second Fashion Pakistan Week (FPW) will be five days long, will showcase 10 fashion shows per day (two more from last season) and is expected to house at least 800 guests per day at the venue.
The second FPW is the third fashion week to be held this year. In January 2010 Karachi Fashion Week made its second appearance, February 2010 was the month in which Lahore hosted its first-ever fashion week titled the PFDC-Sunsilk Fashion Week, and now with just a gap of roughly about a month, Fashion Pakistan Week-2 is slated to be held. The sheer number of events promoting and providing fashion and fashion designers a platform to showcase their work far exceeds the amount of business that currently exists, and one wonders whether the fashion industry and its most ardent followers aren't in to suffer from 'fashion fatigue' if things continue at this rate.
Having said that, FPW as an event was responsible for putting through some of the most creative collections displayed on the ramp.
