The holidays tend to set a festive traditional mood that often comes across in designers hitting more cultural and conservative eastern notes. Bright fruity hues and pastels for lunches and visits along with some richer shades for dinner dawats and so forth are standard protocol. However, with the exception of a few, this Eid most designers downplayed the fuss and kept it clean and simple.
Nida Azwer delivered vintage simplicity with pure white cotton net angarkhas lifted with her signature screen print borders in bright pink and lime that she modeled herself at her open house exhibit. The creation was angelic on her, while the collection also included energetic, vibrant colours and deeper hues imprinted with rustic gold screen print motifs in tapered silhouettes. Nida is an absolute people pleaser when it comes to keeping a wide selection of shades and shapes. Not one to enforce restrictions, she provides a range of hem lines from medium length tunics to ankle grazing kurtas, which we truly appreciate.
Speaking of which, hemlines are desperately trying to head north. If you’re an advocate for a return to shorter lengths, Nadia Ellahi’s Eid exhibit was the place to be. Her collection included some remarkably tailored trick lengths using draped fluid, contemporary cuts that eased in reduced hems. Ellahi’s collection remained loyal to her modern chic style mantra rather than turning overly traditional for Eid. Using feminine silks and chiffons in solids and colour block, she delivered a simple yet glamorous display at Labels.
No Eid is complete without Samia Ahmed’s vivid block print range. The pieces literally sell like hot cakes and deservedly so as she manages to create never before seen blends of shades assembled together in the prettiest patterns every time. From simple streamlined cotton and voile kurtas to more elaborate chiffon screen printed ensembles, she is one of the few designers who keep a formal range of ready-to-wear pieces. We cannot talk about block print without mentioning the ethnic stylings of Fiction Concepts by Rabia Wahab, who also released a luscious range of silk block prints and vibrant discharge prints along with embroidered folklore motifs. The store thoughtfully makes it a point to offer a wide selection of smart screen printed neutral palazzos and straight pants to pair with their ensembles to complete the look.
Meanwhile, Sania Maskatiya transcended the divide with a wonderful fusion of Indo-Pak aesthetics this Eid. Her latest cultural collection ‘Wagah’ is steeped in delightful shades of sunset and earth painted on a canvas of cotton nets and karandis. The design house has made a recent marked shift from block print to custom print with their previous Lokum prints and now this current selection. The exciting parts are the gorgeous printed dupattas finished with striking borders that enhance the grace of the ensembles. We really appreciate these complete suits as, let’s face it, one does need a dupatta on Eid at least. Sania keeps the silhouettes age-friendly with both edgy tunics and longer length straight lines.
The obsession with rillie work has surged and the Sindhi patchwork craft popped up in several exhibits from Anum Salik to Kolachiites and of course, at Nida Azwer as well, who always keeps a few limited edition tukri works due to popular demand.
Shamaeel hosted an exclusive exhibit of her signature rich, velvet embossed poncho tunics and indulgent floral embroidered formals and prints in rusts. Her selection exuded luxe, and one of the dresses was modeled by none other than Frieha Altaf on Day 1 of Fashion Pakistan Week 2012. With the turn of the season, we are sure to see a lot more velvets going forward.
If you missed them this time, don’t fret – they’ll be back before long with even more exciting creations to choose from. Wishing all our readers a peaceful and blessed Eidul Azha from Secret Closet!
Secretcloset.pk is a single online platform showcasing exclusive designers, collections, trends, news and events, and more. The portal provides a one stop guide to all your fashion informational needs in Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 27th, 2012.
Like Life & Style on Facebook and follow at @ETLifeandStyle for the latest in fashion, gossip, entertainment
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ