Bridal Couture Week 2012 takes final bow

LAHORE:

As the rain wiped away the red carpet and most of the external décor on Day 3 of the Pantene Bridal Couture Week (BCW), the spirits of the organisers of PBCW did not falter.

Slowly and steadily, the crowd trickled in to watch the show which finally started after a two hour delay. While Bodybeat Productions’ performances on the first two days were energetic and entertaining, the last performance by film actors Sana and Bubrik (Veena Malik’s former love interest) was less impressive. While they danced to “Jhoom Barabar Jhoom” and “Holay Holay”, the audience preferred not to cheer them on.

That being said, the three day event put up by the organisers was well-coordinated overall. BCW learnt a few things from PFDC L’oreal Paris Bridal Week earlier this month — it improved its front row management; the newsletter placed on each seat with a recap from the night before was something BCW noted from PFDC and it was a welcome addition for those who had missed shows the evening before. What PFDC could learn from BCW is time management. Even with over an hour’s delay everyday for the first act, BCW managed to put through seven shows a day, along with two performances all before midnight. What BCW needs however, is a snack bar! Even though the event was being held at the Pearl Continental, there was no snack bar available for guests to munch on after leaving the red carpet.

Mehdi

Mehdi displayed the BCW finale. The collection titled ‘Jewels of Mehdi’ focused on jewel tones and a bygone era. Overall, the collection was well put together. Many pieces were real hits such as the red moqaish sari worn by Fia, Rabya Chaudhry’s sari with a full sleeved orange blouse and Nadia Ali’s slimming pretty pink silhouette and encrusted head piece. The pink accents on a bridal dress modeled by Mehreen Syed were beautiful and added a new flare to the outfit. The most fabulous aspect by far was the attention paid to the fabrics. Mehdi focused a lot on not just the texture but also the quality. The velvet used was of such beautiful quality that even in its simplicity it exuded luxury and that sets a design house a notch above the others.

Sadaf Arshad

Sadaf Arshad is a Gujranwala-based designer who has opened her doors to Lahori clients. Surprisingly, her collection was the most structurally sound collection shown at the finale of BCW. The layered bridal in gold and red, worn by Mehreen Syed, added a new dimension to the designer’s work. The poncho style shirts were cut and stitched very well and the embellishments were neatly and intricately placed. However, an outfit modeled by Neha fell flat because the shades of grey and yellow were not going well together and made an otherwise decent outfit look drab. Iman Ali walked out as the showstopper in a black heavy bridal with silver and gold embellishments.

Grand Couturiers

13 of Pakistan’s most sought after designers opened the second act by displaying one outfit each. Noore walked the ramp wearing a chili red Deepak Perwani bridal; Mehreen Syed endorsed a lovely orange and red bridal with a contrasting maroon dupatta by HSY; Fauzia sported a very simple and elegant green Maheen Khan; Ayaan modelled a sexy black and  hot pink Mina Hasan and Fayeza Ansari donned Nickie n Nina’s latest collection. Nadia wore a beautiful Nomi Ansari dress and Rabia Butt wore a delicate looking lace appliqued Rizwan Beyg ensemble. Neha wore Sana Safinaz’s hottest new piece, while Nadia Ali and Nomi Qamar walked about in Umar Sayeed.

Ahmed Bilal

The evening opened with Ahmed Bilal’s eclectic collection. It was hard to concentrate on the designs because of the unusual (read outrageous) sari-like togas being modeled by the male models. As model Mohammad walked out on the ramp, it seemed that there had been an accidental wardrobe exchange back stage. He was draped in what could have been a lovely sari in deep purple with shocking pink edging. The menswear continued in its insaneness, as model after model walked out in voluminous sleeves and gaudy belts. All hope died when Abdullah walked out wearing an outfit that was part gladiator and part darbari. That being said, the women’s collection was far more palatable in comparison.  Fauzia modeled a lovely rust and beige flared shirt with beautiful borders at the end in black velvet, maroon and green. Fia modeled a short gold koti over a black and gold shirt that would have been better off without the animal print panels. TV actor Fizza Ali was the show stopper, and walked down the ramp in a red shirt with large lace panels and animal print (sigh) borders.

Sonar Jewellers

The famous jewellery brand had some interesting pieces on display, such as a beautiful gold matha patti. However, even for imitation jewellery, some of the pieces looked very artificial. More than anything else, the styling of the jewellery had some of the models’ resemble sacrificial cows, and ended up looking very out of place in a bridal fashion show. What worked against the jewellery designers was the choice of dresses worn. Some of the outfits overpowered the jewellery and got merged in with the silhouette. For instance, Fauzia wore Sania Maskatiya and even though the outfit was stunning on its own, the jewellery got lost in it because there was too much going on.

Shazia Bridal Gallery

The first act closed with Shazia Bridal Gallery’s show inspired by all things that shine. Rabya Chaudhry wore an interesting outfit with a layered front open shirt in off white and beige, with an additional deep maroon velvet panel. Fayeza Ansari wore a pretty sleeveless worked coat with a higher hemline at the front. Both outfits looked elegant and were well-stitched. The designer worked with some icy tones such as ice blue and the colour palette translated well on the ramp. While there were a few sherwanis that remained on the simple side, some of the menswear was far too complicated to ever be worn. Embellishments and loud motifs are more at home at a Bollywood wedding than at our shaadis.

Commercial designers need to make an educated decision about understanding their clients’ needs.

Tabassum Mughal

Tabassum Mughal’s four seasons collection theme honoured all the seasons with its wide colour palette. Ayaan represented winter with a white lace outfit and a head piece shaped like a tree draped with crystals to depict a snowy winter. Fayeza Ansari’s draped lace had an Elan feel to it, something we saw two years ago. Rabya Chaudhry balanced what seemed like a bouquet of flowers on her head to depict the arrival of spring, wearing an outfit in navy and black with beautiful embroidery. These outfits had flowers and birds in their embroidery, but without much intricacy and detail. Neha represented summer with a fairy light lit branch of a tree in her hair. The warmer colour tones came out in combinations of brown with orange.  While some clothes were pretty, some very obvious Karma and Bunto Kazmi ‘inspirations’.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2012.

Like Life & Style on Facebook and follow at @ETLifeandStyle for the latest in fashion, gossip, entertainment