Curated Pakistani fashion targets global consumers

LAHORE:

LAAM Fashion Week opened its leadership programme in Lahore with an event that set out its ambition to reshape Pakistan's fashion economy, drawing designers, brands, media figures and industry voices to outline a runway-to-digital model aimed at global reach.

Held at the company's headquarters, the gathering served as the first formal introduction to the wider LFW ecosystem, presenting a framework that combines creative talent with technology and consumer access to position Pakistani design for international discovery and long-term commercial growth.

A panel featuring LAAM and LFW co-founders Amir Iqbal and Arif Iqbal, Design651 chief executive Saad Ali, and LFW creative leaders HSY and Maheen Kardar explored the platform's pillars of curation, reach and commerce under the moderation of Lotus PR Global head Selina Rashid.

Speakers said the platform will assemble luxury houses, couture ateliers, textile giants, high-street labels and emerging designers in one curated space, ensuring a broad but selective presentation of Pakistani fashion that mirrors the industry's depth and diversity at home and abroad.

LFW's organisers underscored LAAM's existing reach across 120 countries, saying the combined audience of more than 500 million lifestyle consumers and over 6 million active fashion buyers positions the platform as Pakistan's first globally optimised fashion ecosystem from the outset.

Amir Iqbal said the platform connects global demand with Pakistani creativity, while Arif Iqbal described technology as the backbone enabling designers to be discoverable and collections deliverable worldwide through real-time runway-to-e-tail integration.

Saad Ali said LFW marks an evolutionary step for the sector after years of experimentation, calling it a structure that honours craftsmanship while preparing the industry for a digital and export-led future driven by scale and accessibility.

The event also served as the first milestone ahead of LFW's debut edition in January 2026, which will showcase luxury, couture, high-street, textile and emerging talent under a partnership between LAAM and Design651 with HSY leading event direction.