Bridal Couture Week 2016: The dull and the dreary

Day one of fashion extravaganza has more misses than hits, offers no new trends

LAHORE: Bridal Couture Week rolled out its 13th edition at the Falettis Hotel on Friday night. We witnessed an immediate improvement in organisation details with no long queues this time around, seats properly marked for celebrities, media persons and others, and no one shoving and pushing one another. However, each year, the idea of starting things at the given time remains a distant reality.

While such fashion extravaganzas certainly show how influential bridal fashion has become, isn’t it boring to hold so many shows in one year? Won’t they begin to lose their charm? We have to think ‘out of box’ for fashion weeks to thrive. Simply looking good does not mean that it’s fashion forward. Nonetheless, here’s a lowdown of the highs and lows of day one.

Designer: Mehdi

Collection: The Royal Courtyard

While he has been in the fashion game for quite some time now, Mehdi has not made  any waves in terms of ‘fashion forwardness.’ With more misses than hits, the only offerings that caught our attention were the elegant sherwanis that featured intricate hand embellishments. The silhouettes were traditional in terms of design with one backless top radiating a contemporary flair. The showcase kicked off with a striking navy blue dress and heavily embellished dupatta worn by Nooray Bhatti, and made its way to some traditional ensembles in burnt orange. However, the collection lost its touch with too many bright reds. The can-can underneath the outfits made the models look ungainly as they walked the ramp.

Designer: HEM

Collection: Shahi Muhalla

Supposedly derived from the Mughal era, the collection did not remain true to its theme and lost the essence in some meaningless modern cuts that were utterly confusing. The only saving grace in the line was the ivory showstopper worn by Resham.

Designer: FAS Design Studio

Untitled collection

Faraz Abid Sheikhu put forward a collection that lacked originality. Featuring a colour palette of dull gold and ivory, each and every piece looked the same. The first piece adorned by Cybil was the best one of the showcase. It was adorned with cutwork jaal at the border which added some oomph to her look.

Designer: MNR Design Studio

Collection: Chaap Tilak

By this time, we were yawning, but Mohsin Naveed Ranjha’s collection pulled us out of our daze. The lush appeal of the velvet got us in the mood to acknowledge this cohesive line, which was done just right with oodles of glam factor. There were heavily embellished velvet jackets, waist coats, hanging tassles, men’s shoes in velvet and colourful umbrellas. A very vibrant colour palette made this show a very special line of the evening.

Designer: Zonia Anwaar

Collection: Daria’i Noor

The showcase entailed minimalistic silhouettes and timeless classics. Her modern cuts and jewel toned colour scheme radiated bling on the runway. We appreciated the cutout sleeves and brocade-embellished lowers to go with plain tops. Peplum tops, peshwaas’s and sheer layered ghararas completed the collection.

IVY Couture by Shazia & Sehr

Collection: Imperial Voyage

The duo has been making headlines with their semi-formal range. However, this is the first time they plunged into complete bridals that looked promising on the ramp. The line featured cuts with a mix of cross cultural arts. One especially liked the embellished jamawar shawls, velvet churidaars, crushed tissue lenghas and dupattas edged with kiran that brought back ‘old world’ charm.

Designer: Aisha Imran

Collection: Afsana-E-Ishq

Imran’s collection was based on heavily embellished ensembles incorporating traditional embroidery with luxurious fabrics that looked beautiful on the ramp. Actor Moomal Sheikh walked for the designer in a striking peach lengha with a pop of red, and paired with a peplum choli.

Designer: Sobia Nazir

Collection: The Mahal

Displaying a modern take on bridal wear, the designer gave us a mix bag of emotions through her collection. The chandelier layered one piece was among our favourites. Palazzos and pearl studded embellishments in a nude palette were also prominent in the showcase.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2016.

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