Yet another fashion council

National Fashion and Arts Council has been launched in Peshawar.

KARACHI:

Adding to the chaos of an already fragmented fashion industry, yet another fashion council was born last week. At the star studded Peshawar Dream Eve Fashion Show 2011, the National Fashion and Arts Council (NFAC) was launched in Peshawar on May 7.

According to Usman Aman, who is the International Relations Manager for the council: “The council was organised at the request of the Tourism Corporation of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), and was blessed by Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain.”

But why was the initiative taken?

Aman said: “To reclaim the confidence lost due to the war on terror. Being a regional organisation, it can cater to those craftsmen who do not understand languages other than the territorial language. Meeting buyers at the event would promote confidence in them to do business and would create more job opportunities for them.”

Aman pines with hope: “The world will know that the people of Pakistan, specifically of Peshawar, are peace loving citizens and are trying hard to promote a soft image, which would attract foreign investments as well.”

But is yet another fashion council the right answer? Wouldn’t it serve us to better to unite on a single platform?

“It’s not just a fashion council,” explains Aman. “There is certainly more to it. The council primarily hopes to promote craftsmanship, cottage industry, tourism, arts and culture of the province of K-P, including those areas which fall under the FATA region.”

He states that the other fashion councils within Pakistan are only busy doing fashion weeks and “primarily promoting the fashion industry, whereas the NFAC is not just involved in fashion promotion.  Literature, fashion, arts, drama and music — everything that falls within the range of fashion and arts would get promoted by NFAC.”

Aman further explains: “The prime function of NFAC is to attract revenue and investment for K-P’s tourism and cottage industry. It plans to promote a soft image and endorse and support new talent from the area on a national scale.”

The fashion designers who have supported this venture so far include Obaid Shaikh, Fahad Hussain, Ali Zeeshan, Mohsin Ali, Ainey Khawaja, Mohammad Ali and Hameeda.

NFAC has big plans:  “If all goes well, then in September this year, a five-day Peshawar Fashion Week will be held in the city, catering to national and international fashion designers, buyers and models!”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 13^th, 2011.