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Pakistani Fashion

Zainab Chottani

The collection ran the gamut from all-whites to multicolours that would make a splash at a mehndi to the requisite cardinal red with embellishments that were laid out in pretty patterns.

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There were times when the embroidery did go into a bit of an overdose but heavy embroideries are par for the course when it comes to Pakistani wedding wear.

More than anything else, Zainab’s palette caught my eye: the ivories and golds in the beginning, fashioned into old-world ghararas and sleeker shirts and pants, the dashes of turquoise that followed, the deep reds and blacks.

The designer has a strong client-base and with this collection, I feel that Zainab will only be able to strengthen it further.

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My main bone of contention, perhaps, was with the resurfacing of the peplum. I thought that it had died and was never coming back again.

But the peplum made a return on the FPW catwalk, not just in Zainab’s collection but throughout. I suppose customers for wedding-wear still like them, even if I don’t.

Mawra Hocane and Fahad Mustafa walked out as showstoppers – quite a coup and a throwback to their hit pairing in last year’s Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2.



Huma Adnan
Huma Adnan offered some pretty colour ranges but perhaps should have innovated more with embroideries. Floral patterns have been seen far too many times and while they certainly must still appeal to clients, they don’t manage to make an impact on the catwalk.

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Neater cuts would have helped. Also, I wish that the designer had accentuated the accessories worn in the show. Huma is involved in an ongoing project with the UNHCR where she works with displaced refugees in the creation of hand-crafted jewelry. Some of her pieces are very unique but set against the glitter of bridal-wear they weren’t as visible.

The white shirt worked with paisleys caught my eye – the many multicoloured layered clothes, not so much. Actress Noor Zafar Khan walked out as showstopper very gracefully.

But it was the designer’s other showstopper who made waves for all the wrong reasons.

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Deputy Consul General USA Darian Arkay walked out while wearing a black sherwani, paired with a maroon and gold shawl and a Bollywood-esque neck-piece. The Deputy wore sunshades and kept peering at the audience in a rather strange way.
 
Asim Jofa’s ‘Statement Of The Season’ Embroidered Collection Is Turning Heads!


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A large majority of women are fond of exquisite ethnic dresses, especially for Eid. Sure, we love all things traditional, and when it is Eid, we want an ‘upgrade’. Fortunately, Asim Jofa happens to launch his premium embroidered unstitched collection just in time. You’ll fall in love with the pretty embroidery especially the intricate tilla work. The mesmerizing beads and sequins along with unique cutwork technique will certainly make you admire Asim Jofa’s ingenuity. Furthermore, with the dori and double cording techniques, these embroidered collection stands out from the crowd. The wide range of warm color tones has everyone talking as well. These stunning colors include blue, brown, black, peach, bottle green, purple, and mustard. Wait, the diversity just doesn’t end on colors only. The creative genius has also chosen different fabrics for his latest collection. You can certainly redefine elegance in a cotton net shirt with net sleeves (or simple embroidered ones), chiffon dupatta and raw silk trouser!

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GoP imported fairness creams and face washes from India on urgent basis to fight the pandemic.

Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi is Minister of health.
 
Marriage season in Pakistan is the most awaited time. It is a time when people rush and race for the best dress they could wear. Showing off amazing dresses in order to look magnificent is a very common trend in Pakistan. The bridal wears are normally festooned with the most appropriate beads, Laces, threads and crystals each of which is the finest of its type.





Boost your confidence and style in this glamorous attire accentuated with finest thread work embroidery and cut work hemline. This open shirt having full length sleeves and decorated with embroidery at the end. It comes with brocade gharara. It is coordinated with tissue dupatta which is sprinkled with sequins all over it.







Create a vision of elegance with this blouse skirt decorated with intricate pearls and tilla detailing and silver gold kora dabka and sequins.It is decorated with heavy floral embellishments. A tissue dupatta accompanies the garment. The dupatta has embellished borders on all four sides and sequins spray all over it. The garment is lined with medium silk and finished with jamawar piping.







Gussy up in this luxuriously designed pishwas emboldened with intricate embroidery along with beautiful rich patterns and delicate details at the daaman. The front open jacket executing heavily hand crafted art of zardosi, kora and dabka with splashes of silver and pink floral motifs is a classical visit to feminine personification. Having full length sleeves adorned with floral bootis and lace details. It comprises with matching churidar pajama. Style it with self printed net dupatta having four sided thin border and dangling balls on all four sides.








Go for this trendy dress which is perfect for your nikah. Feel glamorous in our ivory a-line frock with fascinating embellishment on neckline with silver kora, dabka, pearl and sequins. The daman is emphasized with detailed matching embellishment and finished with choclate brown frill. It comprises with sharara adorned with criss cross pattern. This outfit is paired up with net dupatta focusing on kora and dabka handwork borders on all four sides, sequins spray all over and finished with tassels.







Add some super cool twist to your look with this outfit on your nikah. Gussy up in this luxuriously designed shirt emboldened with intricate embroidery along with beautiful rich patterns and delicate applique details at the daaman. Furthermore this super stunning shirt is made of rich floral embroidery which is further enhanced with zardosi work. Having full length sleeves adorned with scalloped finishing. Style it up with artfully coordinated ivory sharara finessed with lace and applique details at the bottom. The outfit is beautifully coordinated with light purple dupatta with embellished lace borders on all four sides and scattered sequins all over.








Make your special day more interesting with this shabby chic statement intensified with rich thread and tilla work all over the front, a large motif in the center and bold patterns at the end of blouse. Having full length sleeves adorned with floral bootis. Add some super cool twist to your look with these subtle colors in this lehenga enhanced with different color panaels. The bottom of the lehenga is adorned with applique and laces. Style it up with golden dupatta adorned with four sided applique border and scattered sequins all over.
 
How did Pakistan's first ever virtual fashion show fare?

REHMAN
SENIOR FASHION WRITER

Called 'Catwalk Cares', the show was also meant to be a salute to frontliners during this pandemic. But was it really?

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Hope springs eternal, it is said.

But with the coronavirus weighing down upon the world, the fount of hope is going through a few fluctuations. Businesses are shutting down and downsizing and the economy is hitting all-new lows. In this time of crisis, the luxury business is particularly affected. Who would want to buy designer-wear when people are dying?

The fashion industry, the world over, is restructuring, restrategising and despite the changing times, trying to hang on to hope.

In such difficult times, a fashion week gives hope. It gives hope to the many businesses within an industry that have lost their glitter as they struggle to survive.

It also offers a ray of light to the wide audience that loves fashion and turns to it for respite, to just dream a bit about the clothes they would like to wear once things are better and to give them a break from all the morbid updates constantly filtering through in the news.

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Mehreen Syed walks for Generation


A physical fashion week in an enclosed space is not possible as long as the virus rages on. But a virtual one is. This is what event organiser Frieha Altaf deduced.

Frieha observed, “A lot of us were in despair when the coronavirus lockdown was implemented. I knew that designers were wondering how they would survive. Everyone was sitting in their homes, fretting. That’s when I decided that we needed to do something about this."

"The future of fashion is digital and this first show, in its own small way, is meant to bring some buzz back into the fashion industry.”

Incidentally, as an event organiser, Frieha herself was also suddenly at home during a time which is usually the busiest in the year, with back to back shows and ceremonies.

The free time lead to the inception of ‘Catwalk Cares’, Pakistan’s first ‘Virtual Fashion Week’. The show was supposed to air on YouTube, over a period of three days, all through Eid.

The original date was postponed due to the plane crash that took place two days prior to Eid and was instead, streamed out this past weekend.

Models and designers were shown working virtually. Hair and makeup was done by the models themselves, with stylist Nabila advising them over video-call.

Videos and images were shot with rudimentary video cameras and phones and then, all these segments were strung together by visual director Asad-ul-Haq in the form of a ‘show’.

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Shehla Chatoor

The ‘fashion experience’
Coming back to the show, one after the other, a strong line-up of 19 designers showcased small capsule lines: Khaadi, Maheen Karim, Amir Adnan, Nida Azwer, Huma Adnan, Shamaeel Ansari, Generation, Sania Maskatiya, Ali Xeeshan, Ismail Farid, Elan, Hussain Rehar, Asim Jofa, Nomi Ansari, Sana Safinaz, Sonya Battla, Republic by Omar Farooq, Faraz Manan and Shehla Chatoor.

Quite often, the clothes were from collections that had been seen before, either in fashion shoots or on brand’s e-stores. The ‘fashion week’ had been put together in a matter of weeks and most designers, locked in their homes, had not had the resources to create new clothes.

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Sania Maskatiya


Also, in most cases, the clothes weren’t visible the way they would be on the catwalk or in a professional shot video of a fashion week. Shot with less sophisticated cameras, the detailing wasn’t always easy to see.

But even though one may not have had been able to zoom in on the embroidery or to fully appreciate the beauty of a silhouette, the ‘Virtual Fashion Week’, in these dark days, succeeded on delivering a fashion experience.

The designers that take over social media every spring/summer during fashion week season but had receded from the spotlight this year were suddenly seen, sitting at their work desks, connecting with the world virtually, talking about not giving up.

Top models improvised well with the all-new virtual catwalks. Even celebrity showstoppers – Mikaal Zulfiqar for Republic, Sarwat Gilani for Sonya Battla and Ayesha Omar for Shehla Chatoor – made an appearance.

There were colours, bridal finery, the latest in pret and the most gorgeous accessories.

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Huma Adnan's embellished masks


And one accessory that caught the eye and resonated with present times were the face masks created by some of the brands. Khaadi showcased cotton masks printed in their signature floral motifs, Huma Adnan put forward embellished as well as printed ones while Ali Xeeshan, Shamaeel Ansari and Shehla Chatoor gave couture spins to their creations – the embellished mask to go with luxury wear or, in Shehla’s case, the fully embellished bridal mask!

Designer face masks are certainly the single-most significant trend to steamroll into fashion this year – borne as much out of necessity as the need to look good – and Catwalk Cares’ virtual runway highlighted this well. The show did ‘care’, it seems, for fashion.

But there’s more. The tagline that accompanied the fashion show read out, ‘United fashion front for front-liners’. The show may have very evidently boosted morale in the fashion industry but how was it helping the personnel fighting the coronavirus on the front-liners?


https://images.dawn.com/news/1185381/how-did-pakistans-first-ever-virtual-fashion-show-fare
 
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