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Fashion forward for 2017
MALIHA REHMAN
Khadijah Shah (C) of Elan pulled out all stops with a grandiose solo bridal show in 2016
All that glitters isn’t gold – especially in the case of local fashion. For Pakistani fashion is glittery: figuratively, with its tall claims and self-declared designers-turned-celebrities, and literally, with its predilection for bling-infested shimmer. Beyond the hype and hoopla, though, it rarely delivers gold.
In retrospect, 2016 ran rampant with copycat designs, paid — and therefore boring — social media reviews and a barrage of fashion that all looked the same. In this dreary state of affairs a weak silver lining was supplied by some semblance of originality and a smattering of new trends. Based on that, here’s what 2017 may look like. It’s glittery, alright. Let’s hope it delivers!
Going solo
The solo fashion show has so far been a sporadic event in our nascent industry. Faraz Manan has been staging individual shows for three years now and come 2016, Elan pulled out all the stops with a grandiose solo bridal show. Media was flown in from different parts of the country and the designs were showed in a veritable enchanted garden, complete with fairy-lights, gazebos and a floral explosion. The mileage generated was extensive and it appears that it has inspired more designers to follow suit.
For 2017, Sana Safinaz has professed a desire to go solo. HSY will also be having an individual show while Elan and Faraz Manan are inclined to continue as they have been.
Better quality is not something one can predict for the coming year. One can only hope for it
More fashion weeks!
Nabila’s got a thorough retail plan mapped out for winning over the West in 2017
Will this mean that fashion weeks will wane? That’s unlikely — only big labels with deep-pocketed investors can sustain the cost of a solo show. What it certainly means is that the fashion calendar is going to get more and more congested. Sadly, this may not necessarily mean better fashion.
Given the endless monologue of fashion-related events, one would think that fashion in Pakistan is a money-minting, all-pervasive business rather than a nascent industry that has only just managed to find its bearings. Nevertheless, while we already have our fill of fashion weeks — six major events per year and many smaller ones — the Hum Network is gearing up for a high-profile Spring/Summer fashion show.
A sneak peek into the potential designer line-up of the show reveals it contains some of fashion’s biggest names. Rumour has it that disgruntled by fashion council politics, some of these ateliers have steered away from the fashion week route and chosen the more platonic and media-savvy Hum platform.
It remains to be seen whether a channel renowned for its dramas will manage to be discerning when it comes to quality control in design. And the platonic bonhomie may not be able to last too long, given that egos inevitably tend to come into play.
Fashion’s old guard may just return
With fashion veering into hackneyed, lacklustre territory, one has sorely missed the finesse and originality of industry veterans. For some time now, some of fashion’s old guard has been in absentia from the catwalk.
Maheen Khan’s couture label ‘Maheen’ had taken its final bow at fashion week in 2015. Meanwhile, Rizwan Beyg, Faiza Samee and Umar Sayeed have long professed to be far too busy running their ateliers quietly, preferring to stay away from the madness, politics and expenses associated with fashion weeks. It has led to the critique that had they opted to remain in the spotlight, they could have set the bar high and prompted others to follow suit.
Come 2017, there’s a chance that this critique may reap results. Maheen Khan only recently showcased her indigenously crafted Koya silk fabric at Pakistan Fashion Week in London and there’s a good chance that a similar collection may also be aired out on local runways. There are also rumours that Rizwan Beyg, Umar Sayeed and Faiza Samee are contemplating catwalk comebacks.
We’re not sure about which fashion week they will participate in. Given the extensive variety available, they can have their pick!
Mega-malls, mega-stores
Rozina Munib’s debut at FPW ’16 got noticed because she opted for Mukhtaran Mai to be her showstopper
Big investors are bringing in big malls which will lead to big stores. A range of mega-malls are set to launch in 2017 which means that there are likely to be a lot more designer high-street outlets dotting the landscape. The ambitiously titled World Trade Centre is going to be opening in Islamabad, the Lucky One Mall is nearing completion in Karachi and a colossal Packages Mall has its sight set on Lahore.
Most prominently in 2016, retail kingpin Khaadi set up a gargantuan space in Dolmen City in Karachi while the newly opened Emporium Mall boasts a cluster of extensive stores by the likes of Sapphire, Ideas by Gul Ahmed, Al-Karam and Nishat Linen.
Coming up early next year is a Khaadi store at the Emporium which will have a separate lift to assist customers with their ‘store within a store’ experience. Apparently, there are many more to follow.
Nabila going global
Stylist Nabila spent a considerable amount of time abroad in 2016. Popping up every now and then on social media were images of her with Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan, Katy Ford of Ford Models, Quincy Jones and producer Lawrence Bender.
She also went on record about how she had discovered that her No Makeup palette, the first in her self-developed makeup tools, was being used on the sets of the hit American TV series Grey’s Anatomy. Leading from this, Nabila spoke about soon wading further into international waters.
There’s a good chance that she will be moving forward with these plans in early 2017. With the project still in the pipeline, Nabila can’t reveal too much about it but apparently, the brand architecture has been reworked with advertising executive Richard Kirshenbaum, and Tammin Sursok of Pretty Little Liars is going to feature in the commercial. She’s also got a thorough retail plan mapped out for winning over the West and knowing Nabila’s single-minded penchant for success, it may just work.
And why shouldn’t it? The No Makeup palette is selling well in the local market, having proved to be a portable, all-in-one vanity box for the woman-on-the-go. Should it manage to enamour the international market just as easily, this could be a major feather in Nabila’s cap, come 2017.
Off with Instagram?
Social media may just become irritating in early 2017 as lawn season swings in and the Internet gets flooded by far too many lawn ads and catalogues. One expects people in Karachi to be especially besieged by this onslaught — the elimination of billboards has led to textile moguls turning their entire attention to the internet’s far reaches.
Word has it that so far it’s been working quite effectively in building hype and generating sales. For many of us, though, this may also end up boring us to tears and having us wipe Instagram off our phones!
The bandwagon for social causes
Social causes are probably going to be a ‘thing’ in fashion in 2017, perhaps not as much out of altruism as for the kind of publicity they generate. This year, for instance, Ali Xeeshan got considerable mileage for his collection at the PFDC L’Oreal Paris Bridal Week which targeted child marriages. Rozina Munib’s debut at Fashion Pakistan Week got noticed by the international press simply because she opted for rape survivor Mukhtaran Mai to be her showstopper. Given this, there’s a good chance that many more will be piling on to the bandwagon for social causes all the way through 2017.
Rising talent rises
Over the years, one has often questioned the validity of the ‘rising talent’ category — that unfortunate segment in fashion weeks where supposedly promising young designers present capsule lines that illicit laughs and bewilderment rather than rave reviews. What is the point of showing ridiculous silhouettes and unflattering design that don’t represent wearable fashion by any length of the imagination? That segment has been on the receiving end of near-constant criticism.
Fortunately, the Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) is endeavoring to turn things around by restructuring that segment. According to Sehyr Saigol, the PFDC Chairperson, students will now be mentored so they can present more coherent fashion rather than veritable thesis shows.
This may mean that the rising talent platform will be more interesting — and less unfathomable —in the coming year.
MALIHA REHMAN
Khadijah Shah (C) of Elan pulled out all stops with a grandiose solo bridal show in 2016
All that glitters isn’t gold – especially in the case of local fashion. For Pakistani fashion is glittery: figuratively, with its tall claims and self-declared designers-turned-celebrities, and literally, with its predilection for bling-infested shimmer. Beyond the hype and hoopla, though, it rarely delivers gold.
In retrospect, 2016 ran rampant with copycat designs, paid — and therefore boring — social media reviews and a barrage of fashion that all looked the same. In this dreary state of affairs a weak silver lining was supplied by some semblance of originality and a smattering of new trends. Based on that, here’s what 2017 may look like. It’s glittery, alright. Let’s hope it delivers!
Going solo
The solo fashion show has so far been a sporadic event in our nascent industry. Faraz Manan has been staging individual shows for three years now and come 2016, Elan pulled out all the stops with a grandiose solo bridal show. Media was flown in from different parts of the country and the designs were showed in a veritable enchanted garden, complete with fairy-lights, gazebos and a floral explosion. The mileage generated was extensive and it appears that it has inspired more designers to follow suit.
For 2017, Sana Safinaz has professed a desire to go solo. HSY will also be having an individual show while Elan and Faraz Manan are inclined to continue as they have been.
Better quality is not something one can predict for the coming year. One can only hope for it
More fashion weeks!
Nabila’s got a thorough retail plan mapped out for winning over the West in 2017
Will this mean that fashion weeks will wane? That’s unlikely — only big labels with deep-pocketed investors can sustain the cost of a solo show. What it certainly means is that the fashion calendar is going to get more and more congested. Sadly, this may not necessarily mean better fashion.
Given the endless monologue of fashion-related events, one would think that fashion in Pakistan is a money-minting, all-pervasive business rather than a nascent industry that has only just managed to find its bearings. Nevertheless, while we already have our fill of fashion weeks — six major events per year and many smaller ones — the Hum Network is gearing up for a high-profile Spring/Summer fashion show.
A sneak peek into the potential designer line-up of the show reveals it contains some of fashion’s biggest names. Rumour has it that disgruntled by fashion council politics, some of these ateliers have steered away from the fashion week route and chosen the more platonic and media-savvy Hum platform.
It remains to be seen whether a channel renowned for its dramas will manage to be discerning when it comes to quality control in design. And the platonic bonhomie may not be able to last too long, given that egos inevitably tend to come into play.
Fashion’s old guard may just return
With fashion veering into hackneyed, lacklustre territory, one has sorely missed the finesse and originality of industry veterans. For some time now, some of fashion’s old guard has been in absentia from the catwalk.
Maheen Khan’s couture label ‘Maheen’ had taken its final bow at fashion week in 2015. Meanwhile, Rizwan Beyg, Faiza Samee and Umar Sayeed have long professed to be far too busy running their ateliers quietly, preferring to stay away from the madness, politics and expenses associated with fashion weeks. It has led to the critique that had they opted to remain in the spotlight, they could have set the bar high and prompted others to follow suit.
Come 2017, there’s a chance that this critique may reap results. Maheen Khan only recently showcased her indigenously crafted Koya silk fabric at Pakistan Fashion Week in London and there’s a good chance that a similar collection may also be aired out on local runways. There are also rumours that Rizwan Beyg, Umar Sayeed and Faiza Samee are contemplating catwalk comebacks.
We’re not sure about which fashion week they will participate in. Given the extensive variety available, they can have their pick!
Mega-malls, mega-stores
Rozina Munib’s debut at FPW ’16 got noticed because she opted for Mukhtaran Mai to be her showstopper
Big investors are bringing in big malls which will lead to big stores. A range of mega-malls are set to launch in 2017 which means that there are likely to be a lot more designer high-street outlets dotting the landscape. The ambitiously titled World Trade Centre is going to be opening in Islamabad, the Lucky One Mall is nearing completion in Karachi and a colossal Packages Mall has its sight set on Lahore.
Most prominently in 2016, retail kingpin Khaadi set up a gargantuan space in Dolmen City in Karachi while the newly opened Emporium Mall boasts a cluster of extensive stores by the likes of Sapphire, Ideas by Gul Ahmed, Al-Karam and Nishat Linen.
Coming up early next year is a Khaadi store at the Emporium which will have a separate lift to assist customers with their ‘store within a store’ experience. Apparently, there are many more to follow.
Nabila going global
Stylist Nabila spent a considerable amount of time abroad in 2016. Popping up every now and then on social media were images of her with Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan, Katy Ford of Ford Models, Quincy Jones and producer Lawrence Bender.
She also went on record about how she had discovered that her No Makeup palette, the first in her self-developed makeup tools, was being used on the sets of the hit American TV series Grey’s Anatomy. Leading from this, Nabila spoke about soon wading further into international waters.
There’s a good chance that she will be moving forward with these plans in early 2017. With the project still in the pipeline, Nabila can’t reveal too much about it but apparently, the brand architecture has been reworked with advertising executive Richard Kirshenbaum, and Tammin Sursok of Pretty Little Liars is going to feature in the commercial. She’s also got a thorough retail plan mapped out for winning over the West and knowing Nabila’s single-minded penchant for success, it may just work.
And why shouldn’t it? The No Makeup palette is selling well in the local market, having proved to be a portable, all-in-one vanity box for the woman-on-the-go. Should it manage to enamour the international market just as easily, this could be a major feather in Nabila’s cap, come 2017.
Off with Instagram?
Social media may just become irritating in early 2017 as lawn season swings in and the Internet gets flooded by far too many lawn ads and catalogues. One expects people in Karachi to be especially besieged by this onslaught — the elimination of billboards has led to textile moguls turning their entire attention to the internet’s far reaches.
Word has it that so far it’s been working quite effectively in building hype and generating sales. For many of us, though, this may also end up boring us to tears and having us wipe Instagram off our phones!
The bandwagon for social causes
Social causes are probably going to be a ‘thing’ in fashion in 2017, perhaps not as much out of altruism as for the kind of publicity they generate. This year, for instance, Ali Xeeshan got considerable mileage for his collection at the PFDC L’Oreal Paris Bridal Week which targeted child marriages. Rozina Munib’s debut at Fashion Pakistan Week got noticed by the international press simply because she opted for rape survivor Mukhtaran Mai to be her showstopper. Given this, there’s a good chance that many more will be piling on to the bandwagon for social causes all the way through 2017.
Rising talent rises
Over the years, one has often questioned the validity of the ‘rising talent’ category — that unfortunate segment in fashion weeks where supposedly promising young designers present capsule lines that illicit laughs and bewilderment rather than rave reviews. What is the point of showing ridiculous silhouettes and unflattering design that don’t represent wearable fashion by any length of the imagination? That segment has been on the receiving end of near-constant criticism.
Fortunately, the Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) is endeavoring to turn things around by restructuring that segment. According to Sehyr Saigol, the PFDC Chairperson, students will now be mentored so they can present more coherent fashion rather than veritable thesis shows.
This may mean that the rising talent platform will be more interesting — and less unfathomable —in the coming year.
