East, West come together at 'Kaleidoscopic Karachi'

Leading fashion houses elaborately display both fashion styles at LAAM Fashion Week 2026 event

KARACHI:

The colours, cultural identity and changing character of Karachi were brought to the runway at 'Kaleidoscopic Karachi', a showcase held as part of LAAM Fashion Week 2026.

The one-day event, held at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, brought together several leading fashion houses on a single runway, while also paying tribute to the history of fashion photography in Pakistan.

Collections by Deepak Perwani, Wardha Saleem, Khaadi, The Pink Tree Company and Sana Safinaz were presented during the show. The collections featured a mix of eastern and western silhouettes, with designers offering their own interpretations of Karachi's colours, contrasts and evolving fashion trends.

The event also brought together personalities from the fashion and entertainment industries, including Sharmila Farooqi, Aly Khan , Sarwat Gillani, Fahad Mirza, Maheen Khan, Preshay Adnan and Zainab Qayyum.

The appearance of two of Pakistan's well-known 1990s models, Fariha Altaf and Simi Pasha, was among the highlights of the evening. Their runway appearance brought back memories of an era that played an important role in shaping Pakistan's fashion industry.

Fashion designer Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, widely known as HSY, told Express Tribune that he was pleased to see designers from across Pakistan coming together and appreciating each other's work.

"We just finished watching a show, where I felt so good that all the designers from Pakistan came together and saw the collections. We cheered each other up," he said.

HSY also highlighted Karachi's creative potential, saying the event offered a glimpse of a side of the city that he felt had not been seen for a long time.

"Along with that, we saw the potential of Karachi, which I felt we haven't seen in a long time," he said.

Starting as a fashion choreographer in 1994, Yasin worked both as a choreographer and designer to various shows within Pakistan and international shows including Dubai, London, New York City and Toronto. 2000 marked the introduction of Yasin's own fashion label, HSY. Starting as a bridal and formal wear couture house, it became one of Pakistan's most recognized fashion labels. In 2007, Yasin introduced a jewellery line under the HSY brand.

Speaking about LAAM Fashion Week, HSY described it as an important platform for the growth of the country's fashion industry.

"It's a great platform. It's a platform where fashion will continue to grow, and that's the most important," he said.

Co-created by LAAM and Design 651, LFW is a long-term platform built to activate the entire fashion ecosystem. Anchored by LAAM's e-commerce prowess and driven by Design 651's strategic and creative leadership, LFW serves as a business development engine for the wider fashion community, a cultural and creative showcase for the region, and a retail channel for growth and visibility.

A major part of the event was a retrospective celebrating renowned fashion photographer Tapu Javeri's four decades of work.

The exhibition featured a selection of Javeri's memorable photographs, offering a visual journey through different periods of Pakistani fashion and documenting how the industry and its aesthetics have changed over the years.

Reflecting on the transformation of photography, Javeri recalled a time when taking photographs required considerable care and patience.

"There was a time when photography was done with a lot of effort. There were only a few photographs on one roll, so you had to be very careful while taking a picture that it did not go wrong," he said.

According to Javeri, the arrival of Photoshop changed photography by making image editing much easier and more accessible.

He said the industry had now entered another major phase with the arrival of artificial intelligence, which allows people to create millions of images and alter almost anything in a photograph.

Javeri said he felt traditional photography was now facing a significant transformation, with the nature of the photograph itself changing in the age of AI.

The event ultimately presented Karachi through its many visual identities, its colours, cultural influences, fashion trends and changing relationship with photography bringing its past and present together on a single runway.