What intrigued us in 2015

We cast a spotlight on those who caught our attention, widened our horizons and made us proud to be Pakistani

Nazli Akbar campaigns



Nazli Akbar’s ‘Girls Around Town’ campaigns were a hot favourite last year. Though she has been designing for almost two years now, the campaign, which first launched in early 2015, made Nazli Akbar a household name. The Malaysian royal family wearing her ensembles to their coronation ceremony intrigued us further. This campaign showed the power of how an effective social media campaign can do wonders in creating a brand.

Sara Haider



Sara Haider was all the rage in 2015, and for good reason. The talented musician made her debut as a lead vocalist on Coke studio last year alongside Ali Zafar, making her the youngest member of the Coke Studio family. She also walked the ramp at the TDAP fashion show, and won the Lux Style Award for ‘Best Emerging Talent’ last year. What intrigues us most about her? The versatility and range in her music! She varies from Western Jazz and Rock, to contemporary soulful renditions of Ghalib’s poetry; we are excited to see what the New Year brings for her.

Amna Ilyas’ LSA speech



Amna Ilyas’s acceptance speech at the Lux Style Awards last year left us all mesmerized. A true game-changer! In a country obsessed with fairer skin tones, Ilyas stood tall, proud and comfortable in her skin. Her speech drew attention to an enormous issue in our country, where the majority of the population is in fact dark-skinned, but girls all over the nation are criticized for not being fair. “When I started modelling I got praise and criticism at the same time,” she said on stage. “I was repeatedly told ‘aye hai yeh to kaali hai’ (oh but she is so dark). Thank you Lux for helping me believe in myself. This goes out to all the dark-skinned girls.” Hats off to you Amna, for being so courageous and unwilling to play by the rules! Not only your talent but also your tenacity intrigues us.

Saad Haroon



Where should we start with Saad Haroon? Whether its his big win at the Laugh Factory competition, where he was voted as the second funniest person in the world, or how one of his notorious comic videos made its way to the popular American talk show, ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’ in March of 2015, the fact is that his humour is intriguing while making us roll off our seats laughing at the same time!

Women’s National Football Team



No such thing as bad publicity? The Pakistani Women’s National Football Team would probably agree! Though the team first created a buzz when bloggers wrote articles objectifying them, describing them as “hot” instead of commenting on their game or skill, they were able to use this to their advantage and sign contracts with multinational organizations last year. In the larger scheme of things, this has been pivotal to Pakistan for the development of sports. These girls intrigued us by proving that they are not just pretty faces, and are in fact the pride of the nation!

Anam Zakariya



In 2015, when the ‘The Footprints of Partition’ by Anam Zakaria was released, there was growing tension on the Pakistan-India border. Under these circumstances, the oral histories served as a window to how both countries and its people, who once used to be the same, and once used to have great love and respect for each other, have reached a point of bitterness and intolerance. The messages Anam Zakaria sent through her narratives intrigued us, by showing us a Pakistan and India that existed, and could maybe one day exist again.

Jibran Nasir



Jibran Nasir’s story is exceptionally intriguing in itself. At the age of 28, Foreign Policy Magazine listed him amongst the three Pakistanis making considerable effort against sectarian violence. Following the Army Public School massacre, he led the procession, calling for the arrest of a controversial Lal Masjid cleric, for which he subsequently received threats from the Taliban. Despite that, the courageous Jibran led the citizen’s movement against terrorism, and ran two campaigns ‘Reclaim your Mosques’ and ‘Never Forget PK’. We are not only intrigued but are in awe of Nasir, and his work for the progress of Pakistan. More power to you!

Desi Tour Project



This new initiative brought tourism back to Lahore with their Disco Laari and Disco Rickshaw tours of the old city. The festively decorated tour bus and rickshaws play old Noor Jahan songs, as they zip through the streets of the walled city. The Desi Tour Project adds that element of fun and surprise while visiting the old landmarks. With a meticulously planned itinerary and the iconic Javed Sahib as your tour guide, this is definitely the most intriguing tour of Lahore you will take.

Kohr



Multifunctional designs meet style at KOHR by Arsalan A. Khan’s latest interiors project. What tickled our fancy was not just that each collection tells a story but also the multifunctional design elements used. The latest collection plays around with geometric form and organic material. The six-piece hexagonal center table not only makes 15 different shapes of center tables but each piece can be used as a stool as well. With spaces becoming smaller, multifunctional pieces are the way forward and this particular design made a lasting impression.

Ali Xeeshan



Campaigns with a conscience would be the best way to describe Ali Xeeshan in 2015. Not only did his use of Mickey and Minnie Mouse puppets at PLBW 2015 comment on how our wedding lack individuality and have become overly orchestrated, but his latest campaign with Amna Babar and Hasnain Lehri tackled the issue of accepting one’s ethnicity. Many criticized him for stereotyping but what he actually did was break free from the rules and stereotypes. His messages intrigued us while creating room for introspection.

Shubinak



This young brand caught everyone by surprise at PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week 2015. From their use of organic cottons to natural dyes, Shubinak revives the use of the handloom and hand woven fabric. What intrigued us most about this brand was their use of environmentally conscious themes for their collections. In their collection for PFDC, they highlighted the issue of deforestation while keeping the apparel wearable and styling high fashion.

Shahzia Sikander



Where do we start about one of the contemporary art world’s most celebrated artists, who has won numerous awards and broken the mould of a traditional South Asian miniature painter. The latest feather in her cap has left us all speechless, as she manipulated hundreds of digitally animated drawings to create the idea of collective behaviour as an observable phenomenon in Gopi-Contagion. This was displayed on all the electronic billboards in Time Square in October last year. We loved how she managed to take traditional formal mediums such as painting and made them relevant on new technology.

Lahore Biennale Foundation



The Lahore Biennale Foundation (LBF) made waves for the art community of Pakistan in 2015. ‘My East is Your West’, the foundation’s first public art project, was celebrated as one of the highlights of the 56th Venice Biennale, the world’s most prestigious art event. The LBF then called out to artists to work on an installation titled Istanbul Chowk, Lahore. This marked the beginning of the ‘Art in Public Spaces’ venture in the city, and was supported by the government. The LBF have intrigued us with the rapid advances they were able to bring to Pakistan within a year and we cannot wait for the Biennale.

Najmi Bilgrami Collaborative



The greatest strength of the Najmi-Bilgrami collaborative is their ability to give each project it’s own identity. In 2015, the firm made headlines when it was selected from over 200 others, as one of the ‘50 Most Influential Names in Architecture and Design’ by Architectural Digest. This recognition intrigues us as it put Pakistan on the global map in the field of architecture, and increased global interest in local design talent as a whole.

Laraib Atta



The daughter of renowned folk singer Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi, Laraib Atta caught our attention as she became the first female Pakistani visual effects artist in Hollywood. After dropping out of college, this young girl from the town of Esakhel managed to pave her way to Hollywood. With titles such as ‘X-Men’, ‘Godzilla’, ‘Gravity’ and ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’ under her belt, we are intrigued to see what the future has in store for her.