The dull and dreary dominate the race

Bridal Couture Week starts with a whimper as designers fail to impress

LAHORE: Telenor Bridal Couture Week kicked off in Lahore on December 11 with HSY opening the three-day extravaganza. Although the lineup boasted a mix of both the old and new in fashion, most brands missed the mark and turned the day into a dull and dreary one on the fashion calendar.

Contrary to TBCW’s usual format, the evening featured no dance and singing performances and even the showstoppers for the night didn’t seem to garner much applause. Mira Sethi and Adnan Siddiqui for Honey Waqar are cases in point, but the lull response they received is perhaps due to the monotony of seeing the same showstoppers show after show. Sethi, for instance, was the showstopper for Nickie Nina at the PFDC L’Oréal Paris Bridal Week and Delphi at Fashion Pakistan Week (FPW) earlier this year.



In terms of fashion, the clothes visibly lacked finesse and attention-to-detail with the can cans showing, ill-fitted bodices and visible linings. The hair and make-up by Nabila and her team at N Pro were the saving grace for many collections that were otherwise trite.

Aisha Imran showed a collection replete with dull gold work on maroon, orange and purple, a colour palette apt for mehendi wear, but she played it safe as the line featured limited silhouettes and way too many lehengas and long shirts.

Shazia Kiani and Sara Rohale Asghar’s collections were brought down because they were ill-fitted. Zarmisha Dar’s presentation had a few striking numbers, such as the light green and pink lehenga choli Sadaf Kanwal sported, which was reminiscent of Nomi Ansari’s signature aesthetics. Nickie Nina’s collection was generally forgettable. The duo recycled the design for the bags they used for their PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week showcase, except they changed the colours and adding work to them.

Zaheer Abbas’s collection stood out from the rest as he experimented with black, which is a risk for bridal-wear but pulled it off with stunning cuts and work in dull gold. He showed the same collection at the latest FPW in Karachi but added some bridal ensembles to the end of his showcase with silver work on grey, which resulted in a disconnect with the preceding pieces. Ziggi Menswear showcased a few interesting Jodhpur pants, and sherwanis and jackets in velvet that are well-suited for a winter groom.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th,  2015.

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