Fashion: Form-fitting clothes made a comeback in 2013

Pakistan took baby steps towards democracy this year. Hope was revived as new leaders were sworn in and old faces bowed out. A 16-year-old held the world captive with the power of her words. Art found its lost voice.

Yet, the country remained racked by terrorism. Inflation and rolling blackouts continued to punctuate conversations. Too often, a child took a bullet not meant for him. Living became a privilege as most made peace with surviving. But what if the year had taken a different course? What would the country look like? How would we feel? We take you through a slightly different version of 2013. Loaded with imagination, humour, hope and a big fat what if…

Disclaimer: All characters and events in this report, even those based on real people and events are fictional. Any opinion expressed here is not meant to hurt any feelings and should be taken in good spirit.



This year, the price of cloth and hemlines both took a hike. As form-fitting clothes made a comeback, post-midnight stress eating became every fashionista’s worst nightmare. All that weight you had been successfully hiding behind those artful pleats and wide flares for the last four years was now on display for the entire world to see.

Don’t pretend that you stayed away from fitted shirts because they looked unflattering. When has that stopped the proverbial curvy South Asian women from sporting skinny jeans? Or well-endowed aunties from waddling by in fitted white tights and a kameez with chaak all the way up to their armpit.

This change in trend took its worst toll on tailors who could no longer charge thousands, just for piecing together two shapeless pieces of cloth. Pregnant women were also forced to invest in separate maternity wear as most retail giants pulled the plug on the baggy kurtas.

The renewed emphasis on cuts, details and styling this year also put many ‘Facebook designers’ out of business. Establishing yourself in the industry became a lot more demanding than inheriting daddy’s textile mill and a lot of spare time. Fashion weeks were aligned with foreign buyers instead of the impending wedding season. And it doesn’t look like we are complaining. 

The author heads the Life and Style desk at The Express Tribune. She tweets @ZinniaBukhari

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, December 29th, 2013.