GulAhmed gives back
Textile giant GulAhmed acknowledged student designers at an award ceremony held on March 17, at the DHA Golf Club’s Convention Centre in Karachi. The brand invited students from various fashion schools to display their creativity in garments and accessories.
The company took the initiative as a part of its corporate social responsibility. Having earned success from a loyal customer base, the First Annual GulAhmed Fashion Awards 2011 was held with the spirit of giving back to society as a token of appreciation. Sharing the details of the inspiration behind the project, director GulAhmed Ziad Bashir said: “These are some of the best fashion students of Pakistan, and have strong creative talent. It’s time we give back to society, the society whose endless support has made us who we are today. Hence, we are holding the GulAhmed Fashion Awards 2011.”
Speaking on the philosophy of the event, Bashir said: “We don’t give back to the educational sector of our society, we don’t provide a platform to young talent, the event is the first of its kind. The quicker we bridge the gap between educational institutes and business setups, the better it will be for the economy. The way textile and fashion have teamed up [in the recent past], the students should be recognised, credited and become a part of the success.”
Three students from each of the five fashion schools of Pakistan participated at the event. While their designs were donned by models walking the ramp, their creativity in accessories was displayed off the ramp.
The participating schools were Asian Institute of Fashion Design (AIFD) and Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVS) from Karachi; Iqra University from Islamabad; and National College of Art and Architecture (NCA) and Pakistan Institute of Fashion Design (PIFD) from Lahore.
The students of NCA shared their thoughts with The Express Tribune, as they displayed their accessories. The participants said they had little idea about how grand the event would be. They further said that participating in such a large-scale event was a great experience.
The judges for the competition were Muniba Kamal, Aamna Isani, Nabila, Fareshteh Aslam, Ayesha Tammy Haq, Kamiar Rokni, Maheen Khardar, Tariq Amin, and Ayesha Hashwani. The fashion veterans rated the candidates based on their work in both garments and accessories.
Talking to The Express Tribune, Maheen Kardar of Karma said: “Twelve years ago, I was in the same position [with no outlet]. But today this platform provided by GulAhmed surely empowers and encourages the young students.”
Kamiar Rokni of The House of Kamiar Rokni said: “It’s a great idea to give a platform to young students. Leaders have to be visionary. GulAhmed is one such textile leader in the market. This should be something that is held annually and I hope the young student body welcomes it every year.”
The star studded night came to a close with the announcement of the winners in the accessory and fashion competition.It was a great night for the brand all-in-all, ace designers and students both had designed exclusively using their fabric. We can only hope that like the race of lawn exhibitions, textile mills follow suit by racing to organise such events to help the industry.
The winner takes it all
Here’s a list of students who shone:
Accessory Competition
Winner: Sidra Asim from NCA
Runner up: Ali Yousuf from Indus Valley
Fashion Competition
Winner: Sehar Sadiq from Iqra University
Runner up: Schehrezade Sohail Muzammil from PIFD
Participating schools and students
Asian Institute of Fashion Design, Karachi
Muhammad Annus Abrar
Neil Uchong
Sehrish Butt
Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi
Amna Tariq Moten
Farah Qasim Zaur
Ali Yousuf
National College of Arts, Lahore
Aiman Chughtai
Sania Azhar
Sidra Asim
Iqra University, Islamabad
Sehar Sadiq
Osaf Rehman
Farkhanda Amjad
Pakistan Institute of Fashion Design, Lahore
Hafsa Umar Farooq
Faizan Ahmed Iftikhar
Schehrezade Sohail Muzammil
Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2011.
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