Lessons we learned from Pakistani lawn adverts

[Zibago]

Lessons we learned from Pakistani lawn adverts

Do we really want to masquerade as a pirate in the summer?
As one of our staffers was driving to work one day she noticed not one, not two, not three, but seven hoardings sporting lawn adverts at a single roundabout, all featuring women in various iterations of the shalwar-kameez-dupatta that comprises our national dress.

Lawn is everywhere this summer: on our Instagram feeds, in our magazines, in public spaces, on celebrities, in stores, and, most importantly, on our backs.

But have we ever stopped to question how it's sold to us?

A quick glance at the lawn catalogues littering our office revealed some fascinating — and hilarious, if you squint — lessons that lawn adverts apparently want to teach us, and why, next summer, we might want to see something different.

1) A Pakistani woman wearing lawn... must not live in Pakistan
Oh, the irony! This season most lawn campaigns were shot abroad, like Elan, Maria B, Feeha Jamshed and Shehla Chatoor.

While an average Pakistani woman usually poses for a picture in new spanking-new designer lawn jora in her lawn or on her balcony, our lawn ads paint an extravagant picture of the lawn-wearer, showing models defining the lawn experience in a completely opposite environment.

Here's your average lawn-wearer at a beach in Bangkok!

Just chillin' on the beach, in Shehla Chatoor lawn
And here she is wearing lawn in Morocco

Locals really digging her Elan lawn
Dubai is also a great spot for lawn-wearers

We get that advertisments are meant to be 'aspirational' and that most people aspire to travel for pleasure... but honestly, we don't usually wear lawn joras outside Pakistan (except to Mimi Aunty's annual Eid dinner in Florida — ugh).

What do we really want to see? How that lawn jora stands out at an eight-year-old's birthday party in Lahore. Or at that important presentation you're scheduled to give next Monday in Karachi. Or how the dupatta would stand up to whipping wind at Islamabad's Monal restaurant.

Now THAT would be helpful.

2) A lawn jora is best enjoyed in deep slumber
We thought this was a trope limited to soap operas on Indian TV. But if people were to take lawn ads seriously, they'd think that women enjoy the sweetest slumber in their best lawn joras, fully made up and hair styled to a tee.

Is this a case of lawn marketers pushing the 'ladies of leisure' image too far? We feel it isolates the rest of us, who, you know, don't lounge about and instead work for a living.

 

[Zibago]

How hard would it be to plan a photo shoot around women pursuing real-life professions or everyday activities, without compromising on the shoot's glamour appeal? That's a challenge we'd like to see a photographer take.

3) Don't get in the driver's seat. That's a big no-no.
You might ask: are we still talking about transport, or is this a metaphor for life?

We were confused too. These lawn adverts seem to be saying: it's cool to have somewhere to go, but you should struggle to get there. Better yet, don't ever arrive.

Women stand around cars, sit on top of cars, manage to miraculously perch one high-heeled foot on their headlights, but getting in to drive one of those vehicles is out of the question. Why though?

Don't even bother with the luggage. Leave it out. Someone else will get that.

Maybe they can’t see the car, see how confused they look?

This one baffles us the most because the poor helpless lady is using her dupatta to create shade when she can just… sit in the car?

We're grasping at straws here, ladies. Just. Get. In. The. Car. And drive!

4) Your trusty dupatta must be repurposed as a sail for navigation. Or similar.
In real life, the dupatta is a highly functional element of your wardrobe. It has multiple uses: at different times it's either a guard against lewd stares, a shield from the sun or an improvised jharan that we clean up spilled chai with (guilty!).

But lawn ads beg to differ.

In lawn ads, the dupatta is used in fascinatingly creative ways. All of them rather useless.

According to this ad, you must use your dupatta as a weathervane. What better use for a three-yard piece of cloth than as an instrument with which to gauge the wind's direction?

Should you get lost at sea, it can be your sail. Amo B demonstrates.

 

[Zibago]

And since you're already feeling nautical, you may use your dupatta to dress as a sexy pirate (in lawn) too.

Dupattas can even be your baby hammock. Insert baby here.

Once, just one, we'd like to see a lawn ad display our favourite use of the dupatta: as a handy (no pun intended) cover for my steering wheel when it gets roasted by the summer heat.

5) The no.1 accessory for the modern Pakistani woman is an animal — preferably wild, but pets do too.
Michael Kors says, "I've always thought of accessories as the exclamation point of a woman's outfit." Well, a wild animal is definitely an exclamation point! Oh what’s that? Most of these are domesticated animals? Well we just learnt a lesson.

We're struggling to figure out what the message is here. Perhaps lawn makes one in tune with nature?

Maybe your lawn will attract animals (not sure that's a plus)?

Perhaps lawn magically converts you into a dog person... or a bird person?

How do the animals feel about this, we wonder?

6) A lawn jora is an all-weather garment and must be respected as such.
Planning a trip to the Artic? No problem, break out that FTA jora!

Prepping to chill by a tropical lagoon? Shehla Chatoor has you covered!

Lawn will always be by your side.
http://images.dawn.com/news/1175380/
@django @The Sandman @Moonlight @shanain @Ray_of_Hope @Winchester @khanz

 

[Talwar e Pakistan]

Pakistani women are absolutely gorgeous.

 

[Zibago]

Pakistani women are absolutely gorgeous.

 

[The Sandman]

What a beautiful.... Lawn ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

[Zibago]

What a beautiful.... Lawn ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

This lawn is even better (￣﹃￣)

 

[The Sandman]

This lawn is even better (￣﹃￣)

I agree ( ͡°( ͡° ͜ʖ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ʖ ͡°) ͡°)

 

[EAK]

Tharak Laailaaj Marz hay ..Ehtiyaat kijiye.

 

[Zibago]

I agree ( ͡°( ͡° ͜ʖ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)ʖ ͡°) ͡°)

Just look at em fine ........ prints yes prints so simple yet so gorgeous (〜￣▽￣)〜

Tharak Laailaaj Marz hay ..Ehtiyaat kijiye.

tharki woh wahid tabqa hai jo rung nasal mazhab firqa aur hur tarha kay taasub se bala tar ho kar sochta hai
Anwar Maqsood

 

[The Sandman]

Tharak Laailaaj Marz hay ..Ehtiyaat kijiye.

Hm to lawns ki tareefein kr rhein hain bs

 

[django]

@Zibago @The Sandman @Moonlight @Shamain
Wow

Sheikh beauty

 

[Zibago]

@Zibago @The Sandman @Moonlight @Shamain
Wow

Sheikh beauty

Lovely prints dont you just love Pakistani garments

 

[Moonlight]

@django

This thread actually made me laugh. Lessons.


@Zibago you never share Maria. B???

 

[Zibago]

@django

This thread actually made me laugh. Lessons.
And brothers never buy me one. Huh'

@Zibago you never share Maria. B???

Oh bibi itni baar Maria b ka kiya tha just look at Pakistan Fashion thread

As Swarovski picks Khaadi and Maria B for a glam photoshoot, we find out: what's next?
MALIHA REHMAN FASHION CONTRIBUTOR
With two brands - Khaadi and Maria B - and a blogger from Pakistan, Swarovski's shows that it's here to stay
In the sweltering heat of the U.A.E. desert, amidst sand dunes and dry, dusty wind, came the unlikely sparkle of crystals and designer-wear.

Swarovski’s Neo-Arabia shoot was underway, with focus being placed on eight social media mavens. It was an ideal way to make waves on the Internet – when you photograph bloggers, they are very likely to blog about it. Shot at the Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort by Anantara in Abu Dhabi, the photographs were also set to become a mainstream feature in the fifth edition of Swarovski’s magazine, featuring quite a collection of crystal-encrusted design, of course!

The handpicked lineup of bloggers included women from the Middle East and, in a proud moment, Salima Fareesta from Pakistan.

Also read: A camera, the desert and Beyonce's boots (the story of my high-end Abu Dhabi phootshoot)

Further indicative of Swarovski’s growing strength in Pakistan were two Pakistani brands that were handpicked for the project. Khaadi and Maria B. proudly held their own, rubbing shoulders with some very illustrious international counterparts like Jean Paul Gaultier and Aigner. Maria B.’s hot off the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week design, in fact, is now featured on the cover of this month’s Swarovski’s magazine, worn by Philippina blogger Mariyah Gaspacho.

It’s certainly a high to see my designs on the cover of an international magazine,” says Maria. “The cut-worked pants, jacket and belt were selected by the Swarovski team that was present at PSFW. I didn’t even have to alter it as they told me that most bloggers fit into runway sizes.”

Did Maria’s inclusion in the shoot have anything to do with her husband Tahir Saeed being Market Manager to Swarovski in Pakistan?

“No, they just zoned in on brands that they do business with the most,” explains Maria. “We use Swarovski crystals very frequently in our bridal-wear, luxury-pret, unstitched embroidered line and lawn. We’re even about to use them as embellishment in our upcoming prêt collection. Customers appreciate the high-end quality association and the Swarovski seal that accompanies their purchases. The PSFW collection had similarly been embellished heavily with Swarovski crystals.”

Similarly, within the magazine, Dubai-based blogger Deema Al-Asadi wore a pink-and-silver Khaadi top intricately crafted with crystals, also from the PSFW runway. “They picked the outfit,” confirms designer Shamoon Sultan, who is now hoping to translate some semblance of the collection to retail racks.

“What we showed at PSFW was pure couture and would be far too expensive for the high street. We’re going to tone down the designs and make them more cost-effective.”

With a Pakistani blogger and two Pakistani brands included in the Neo-Arabia shoot, it is clear the Swarovski has faith in its nascent growth in the local market. Having launched merely in 2014, the brand has been making definite inroads, quite visible at local fashion weeks and latching on to the lucrative realms of designer lawn.

Nevertheless, it can’t be said that Swarovski is an absolute sensation yet. We are, after all, quite accustomed to bling, with a genealogy entrenched in the shimmer of gota, dabka and myriad other hand embroideries. Faced with these formidable competitors, Swarovski brings to the fore great quality, years of research and development and a brand name that exudes affluence and a high fashion vibe.

Will it remain limited to the occasional fashion week, expensive bridal-wear and luxury-pret and eye-catching fashion shoots? Or will Swarovski manage to last the long haul, complementing – if not overtaking – our vast reservoir of indigenous handwork?

Time will tell; although Neo Arabia with its multi-ethnic bloggers turned models and culturally diverse design shows promise.
http://images.dawn.com/news/1175353/
Apkay fav brand nay ab price bhara dainey hay
@Moonlight