Designers walk out of ‘Runway Pakistan’ without showcasing collections

Fashion shows hit a new low in Lahore as designers walk out of the venue without showcasing their collections

LAHORE:

Orchestrating a reputable fashion extravaganza not only requires practice, patience and the drive to pick and choose collections, but also the need to decide on schedules and settle designers’ demands for slots.

These elements were missing at Runway Pakistan, a show that failed to deliver all that was promised. And the designers, rightly so, had issues with that. Held on Thursday night, the show was supposed to start at 5pm, but got delayed till 8pm. Even then, the designers had no idea about the final line-up. So much so, that models turned up hours after the expected time and some designers left without featuring their work.





“This is the most disorganised show I’ve attended in my 16 years in the industry; I’ve never seen unprofessionalism so up-close,” couturier Munib Nawaz told The Express Tribune. “Too many people are coming in the fashion industry with black money to make it white. There is no point in associating yourself with a failing business. This is not the platform where any semi-established designer would want to put themselves,” Nawaz further added.

Although the invitation for day 1 had Natasha Kamal and Rani Emaan’s names among others, the designers chose not to turn up at the event.  “They called a week ago but didn’t get in touch till the day before the event. Without enough details from them, Natasha couldn’t put her brand out there,” a source close to Natasha told The Express Tribune.

Nawaz mentioned he hasn’t done many shows in Pakistan recently and, thus, found it a good opportunity. “I haven’t been doing a lot of shows here, so I thought we could unveil a fresh collection. It turned out good and so I didn’t want to waste it at this show,” he added.



Asifa of designer duo, Asifa Nabeel, walked out of the show, stating, “They are taking fashion so casually and bringing a bad name to our industry.” There were models who were flown in from overseas to attend the event. Speaking about the models, Asifa said, “What impression will they take of our fashion weeks? It’s just so ridiculous that action should be taken against them. I came because I had committed to them, but what I saw was worse than what I had imagined.”

A certain designer shared on the condition of anonymity, “the only reason I’m here is because they are funding my luxury trip to Europe.”

Syed Moiz Kazmi flew in from Karachi to help with backstage management, choreography and coordination. “I’ve worked with Bridal Couture Week (BCW), Fashion Pakistan (FP), and PFDC (Pakistan Fashion Design Council), and months of hard work are involved. It is not just a weeks’ job,” Kazmi told The Express Tribune.



The team at Toni and Guy North Pakistan led by Shammal Qureshi and Juju Haider were the official stylists for the event, and held their own despite all odds. “Even though people are walking out and it's complete mayhem, we were hired to do a job and we are here doing it – we don’t expect any monetary compensation though,” said Juju Haider.

Sajjad Chaudhry, CEO of Creative Jacket, had bought rights to Runway Pakistan from Runway Dubai, a company based in the UAE. When contacted by The Express Tribune, Chaudhry said, “There were people who weren’t part of the management but disturbed us and the choreographer was threatening to walk out, which created a lot of problems.” He added, “We did not get the NOC till the last minute and that caused delays.” Owing to the NOC issues, the second and third days of the showcase have also been cancelled.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd,  2016.

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