Bridals for the monsoon wedding

Designer Nomi Ansari displayed his Rang Mahal and Gravity collections at the bridal trunk show.

LAHORE:

The wedding season is upon us, and apart from those intense bridal orders, people have already started placing orders for formals to add to their trousseau. With PFDC L’oreal Paris Bridal Week almost a month away, designers are also gearing up to take pre-orders on their previous collections to get the ball rolling on the ever increasing wedding season. Nomi Ansari’s bridal trunk show was held at Ensemble, Lahore, this weekend. It has become common practice for out-of-town designers to hold trunk shows in different cities to make their brand more accessible and for clients to get a chance to have a meet and greet with the designer.

Ansari displayed his Rang Mahal and Gravity collections at the show. At first glance, one would expect Ansari to be the perfect Mehndi-wear designer and one would think that people would approach him most for their Mehndi clothes. “You will actually be surprised that we actually get asked to do bridals more than mehndi wear,” says Ansari, “Brides today do not want their bridals replicated and so each piece that has to be done is customised in some way or the other.”

From panelled aplomb lehnga’s to peshwas’s, Ansari’s clothes are bold and traditional at the same time. PHOTOS: SHAFIQ MALIK/EXPRESS

The never-ending debate about what works for Lahore and Karachi creeps into the conversation. “When it comes to bridals, I have noticed that Karachi is more traditional. Farshi lehnga’s and super traditional silhouettes with full sleeves is what they love. Lahore loves to be slightly more experimental with its cut and silhouette and color coordinates do very well here but Lahori’s also like a blinged out finish while Karachi likes understated matte finish.”

There is a vibrant spin in his clothes with mix medium embellishments used to adorn each piece. From panelled aplomb lehnga’s to peshwas’s, Ansari’s clothes are bold and traditional at the same time. With a fashion presentation as his trunk show, he showcased bridals and also stresses on how the clothes can be used as separates and can be mixed and matched.

“The bridal industry is growing at an exponential pace in Pakistan,” continues Ansari, “But it is also important to highlight that now there are two different types of designers in the business.” He suggests that experienced designers are creating their own designs and have formed their signature styles but then “there are also the veranda aunty designers who are basically replicating the same designs at lower costs and are passing themselves off as designers.”



There is a lot of money to be made in this industry because, regardless of what happens to the economy, people will always get married and the demand for bridals will never trickle down in theory. For this reason alone, there are designers that are skeptical, showcasing their bridal collections for the sole reason that they might get replicated. “I cannot even begin to tell you how many weddings I have gone to and people have come up to me saying that the bridal is beautiful, and I can instantly tell  that, it is a replica and not my design but you cannot voice these things out loud to people at weddings because it can be a mood damper.”

His two day trunk show allowed for the designer to take his appointments and get the ball rolling on the orders before the new collections start hitting the ramp in a month’s time.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2014.

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