LAHORE:
After eight years of silence, the Lucky Irani Circus (now called the New Lucky Irani Circus) came back to life courtesy leading retail brand Leisure Club. To celebrate their 15th anniversary, Leisure Club put together a full-fledged circus along with a fashion show of their latest collection.
Speaking about the anniversary, General Manager Omer Chaudry says, “We are fusing together a fashion show of our quintessential urban western wear with a dynamic theatre production which will bring together artists from across different genres and backgrounds.”
The idea of putting together a private circus seems preposterous but the Leisure Club team made it happen and under the Circus’ Majestic Big Top tent, over 4,000 families enjoyed a sizzling night of acrobats, percussion performances and various different circus acts.
Party pooper
However, the event didn’t turn out to be as elaborate as planned and the audience could clearly point out some major shortcomings. For instance, the ringmaster, Shaan Lashari’s performance was a major disappointment. We understand that circus includes exaggerated moves and expressions, but Lashari made the mistake of teetering on the edge of overacting. “I wish he wasn’t being so dramatic,” says a member of the audience, while adding, “His jokes are failing and his persona isn’t relatable to the rest of the act.”
Additionally, the outfits designed by Leisure Club for the circus performers were not as extravagant as they should’ve been and one would not have even guessed that they were a creation from a leading retail brand if it had not been stated before the event.
Moreover, there was no cohesion between the circus and the collection presented. The latest collection modelled by children included an Angry Bird’s series along with cotton shirts, plaid prints, tunics, dresses and colourful trousers. Colour-blocking has taken the market by surprise this season and Leisure Club followed suit and adopted this trend for young girls. One would have expected the collection to be as interesting as they had intended the performance to be, but the idea did not translate well in the end. It is safer to say that the circus was just an activity Leisure Club wanted to add as part of their celebration and not connect it to the collection at all.
Opening doors for everyone
On the plus side, what was commendable about the event was the fact that Leisure Club was able to celebrate its birthday in an open-to-all fashion. Mostly fashion shows, launches and glitzy gatherings cater to the upper middle and elite class, but by choosing Sozo Water Park and opening their doors to thousands of people, Leisure Club is truly trying to make their brand more reachable.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2012.
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