PFDC: Get ready for royalty and romance at bridal week

A sneak-peek at designers' collections at the four-day fashion show that kicks off tonight.

LAHORE:

PFDC L’Oreal Paris Bridal Week remains the pioneering platform that defines contemporary and traditional Pakistani bridal fashion and make-up trends, fusing to create the ‘look’ for the bridal season each year.

The four-day event is scheduled to take place in Lahore starting October 3 to 6. As the line up of the designers gets finalised and the models file behind the runway for last minute choreography instructions, The Express Tribune brings to you an exclusive scoop on what you can expect from designers this season.

What to expect

Showing for the first time in 10 years is Layla Chatoor. Since her appearance at Bridal Week Asia in Dubai a decade ago Layla Chatoor has been on the down low and strictly operating from her house, “Each year, I wanted to showcase but somehow my collection was never ready,” she says. “This year I have decided to come back and put my work out there again.” Her collection titled ‘The Queen’s Jewels’ is inspired by Queen Elizabeth’s jewellery. “Motifs and colours are taken from the exhibit I saw in London for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee,” says Chatoor. “The idea is to re-impose the signature look and add tones that make the outfits look regal.”

While the royal set up of Pakistani weddings is undeniable, the maharani sensibility seldom escapes the couture collections. Sonia Azhar plans to unveil the sensuality of the Pakistani bride in her collection titled ‘Dark Romance’. “I want to capture the mystical allure and the darkness of romance that evolves from it,” says Azhar. “I will be using tones of magenta, aqua, plum, gray, and peach to enhance the beauty of the bride and glamourise the romance.” One might feel ‘Dark Romance’ is vicious and intense; however, to Sonia Azhar, it is the understated romance that is dark because it exudes hidden beauty.

It seems as if almost every bridal season has a regal touch. Hina Butt wants to explore the Baroque time period. “I will use a lot of chiffon and mukaish and add velvet to bring out the royal touch,” she says. Her collection ‘Regal Romance’ will contain a vast spectrum in the colour palate as it uses hues of burnt orange, greens, pastel pinks, ivory gold and leading up to the deep reds.

Misha Lakhani, the newest fashion sensation on the block, wants to juxtapose contemporary style with traditional cuts. “The label strikes a balance between traditional and modern, refining the extravagance and romance of old India by fusing it with international chic,” says Lakhani. “This collection is called ‘A Colonial Transgression’ and inspirations include the Taj Mahal’s inlay work, contemporary but timeless silhouettes, the colours of summer going into fall, Jaipur gota, and a mix of textures, fabrics and prints.”

While most focus on embroideries and embellishments, Ali Xeeshan hopes to steer away from this and vouches to put out a textile centric, cut-based collection. Xeeshan shares his version of Cinderella after 12. “Bridals with no embellishments,” he says. “I have personalised the fabric and taken sacha tilla and sacha gota and woven it to create the desired look.” One’s first thought of Cinderella’s look after midnight is that of an unexciting, rugged appearance after the magic spell breaks and she turns into her unkempt self. It will be interesting to see how Xeeshan pulls off this notion and brings glamour and taste to this concept. “I have used semi-precious stones to add to the regal nature of the collection.” While Ali Xeeshan always promises an entertaining show, it will be exciting to see his new take on the bridal look. “I dedicate this collection to Ather and Shahzad for their fabulous contributions to the fashion industry.”

Nida Azwer recently dazzled the crowd in Delhi and is now ready to set the runway on fire with her Kashmir inspired bridal collection. “You can expect to see a collection of interesting single designs to be worn as bridal or separate pieces at suitable events,” says Azwer, “I have redesigned the Kashmiri costumes according to my sensibility. You will see a lot of gold, bronze, ivory, light pinks, browns with hints of blue, sea-green and black.”

Last year’s bridal week had showstoppers Mahira and Fawad Khan, who walked the ramp for Umar Sayeed when the craze for “Humsafar” was at its peak. Umar Sayeed — a big name in bridal talk who wows the crowd with his designs — will be sitting this one out.

While there will surely be hits and misses during bridal week, we can expect a lot of drama, glitz and glamour. We wish them all the best of luck!

List of participating designers:

1.    Ali Xeeshan

2.    Asifa & Nabeel

3.    AZZA

4.    Élan

5.    Fahad Hussayn

6.    Hassan Sheheryar Yasin

7.    Layla Chatoor

8.    Misha Lakhani

9.    Nickie Nina

10.  Nida Azwer

11.  Saai

12.  Sonia Azhar

13.  Teena by Hina Butt

List of participating make-up artists and collaborating designers:

1.    Nabila (N-Pro) with Zaheer Abbas (Day – 1)

2.    Maram & Aabroo with Zara Shahjahan (Day – 2)

3.    Toni&Guy with Mohsin Ali (Day – 3)

4.    Khawar Riaz with Adnan Pardesy (Day – 4)

5.    Complete male model make-up for Day 2 and 4 Khawar Riaz

Published in The Express Tribune, October 3^rd, 2012.

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