Alternate: A hair and makeup story

Sunuba makes a mark on the ramp with eccentric hair extensions incorporating lights, feathers and gigantic globes.

LAHORE: Very rarely does one get to experience full blown outlandish creativity in Pakistan.

As a nation, we are by and large conservative with our tastes and particularly in the manner and style we dress. Sophistication is denoted by the sobriety and sedateness of one’s ensemble and makeup, very few dare to be different. Makeup is hardly seen as a medium of communication akin to art. Even at fashion weeks, one doesn’t get to experience the eccentric looks that are seen at global catwalks. Although to be fair, Ammar Belal collaborated with Balmain Hair extensions and Athar and Shahzad attempted to experiment with their hair show at the Bridal Couture Week last year, but hair shows are still not a regular feature of the fashion calendar.

This, however, may change with an audacious undertaking by a local spa and salon, Sunuba. Known for its fantastic spa treatments, Sunuba put up a hair and makeup show this week that demonstrated the salon’s dexterity in crafting inventive hair styles and using makeup as a medium to express their creativity. The idea germinated when the director of Sunuba, Ubab Hurain, began learning hair and makeup in Malaysia and shared a few videos of her work with her mother. “My mother had only recently discovered the internet and she got hooked when she saw the kind of videos that were available on YouTube for makeup and hair. When she saw all this creativity, she wanted to do something similar. Therefore, we did this show,” explained Hurain.

Every year Sunuba’s CEO Imrana Shahid, Hurain’s mother, participates in the Hair Asia Pacific competitions and has consecutively won the nail art competition. Generally reserved and shy of the limelight, Shahid was pushed by Rohana Iqbal of Bhabhi’s salon to participate. This gave her the confidence to do a show of similar nature in Pakistan, “I wanted to do something that was out of the box,” says Shahid, who was supposed to take part in the Bridal Couture Week but could not due to some last minute issues.

As a young and emerging salon, opportunities for doing shows are few and far between as the bigger names get roped in for the more exciting projects like fashion weeks. Although Sunuba’s show was far from perfect, it provided a great platform to passionate people like Shahid to emerge.

“People kept discouraging us till the last minute since we were doing 50 looks with 50 different models,” said Hurain. Yet even with a mixed bag of amateur and professional models, the salon made a mark with its eccentric hair extensions that incorporated lights, feathers, gigantic globes and animal print inspired crimps in hair.

“No salon has ever done such a show. The ramp is all about doing things out of the box. I thoroughly enjoyed it,” said Leena, a guest attending the show. The costumes certainly had a lot to be desired, many were garish and gauche bordering on tacky and took away from the awesome impact that the hair and makeup were trying to make.

Yet as one lady Humaira said, “The makeup was so good that after the initial shock of the clothes, one could look past and appreciate the skill with which the looks were created. I personally enjoyed the mime a lot.”

With a mime and tableaux, along with a bridal presentation, Sunuba undertook a rather ambitious task of projecting all its talents in one go, and while the event may have not been as spectacular as one would have expected, it is hoped that with regular showcases, such salons will learn how to work the ramp and be able to benefit the beauty industry. We can only hope that the other salons draw inspiration from such shows and come up next to showcase their style prowess on the ramp.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2011.