Round-up: Fashion Week – fantasy or the business of fashion?

PDFC Sunsilk Fashion Week collections ranged from the staunchly commercial to gloriously impractical.

KARACHI:

PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week (PSFW) is perhaps the most eagerly anticipated fashion week in Pakistan. It regularly attracts a large cross-section of the country’s best designers and collections that come to define cutting-edge Pakistani fashion for the coming year.

PSFW also consistently demonstrates that prêt means different things to different designers. Some aim for solid collections, clearly aimed at their retail outlets, while others opt to show creative flights of fancy, that showcase their talent, but have a miniscule market in Pakistan.

Perennial favourite Élan is one of those labels that subscribe to the ‘ramp fashion as art’ ethos. It must be said, that in this category Khadijah Shah of Élan is head and shoulders above the rest. Her pop art collection was beautifully conceived and executed. Particularly appealing was the fact that this collection was an extension of her earlier work and yet had a completely fresh look and feel.

Fahad Hussayn is another designer who likes to make strong artistic statements on the ramp. Hussayn’s ‘Kaala Paani’ collection played around his love for the dark and gothic and it sure was creative and accomplished. For once, Hussayn’s outfits shone brighter than the styling.

Ali Xeeshan, the perennial showman, put together an interesting concoction of western cuts and eastern embroidery. The elaborately embellished capes and pencil skirts looked even more incongruous again, with the bizarre selection of Baby Doll as a sound track. At best, an interesting experiment from Ali Xeeshan.

Debutant designer label Saira Shakira also made an impact on the ramp, but should perhaps have dialed back the styling to let the clothes do more of the talking. There were some beautiful pieces in their collection, but they were lost in the costume-like look of the showcase.

PHOTO: ZAN SOLUTIONS

At the other end of the spectrum were designers like Arsalan Iqbal, Republic, Body Focus, Karma, Sania Maskatiya and Rizwan Beyg. Whilst they had energetic, well-conceived shows, their focus was clearly sales. They all put forward collections that were fashion forward and will retail well, but lacked the pageant factor and that is not necessarily a bad thing. PFDC itself continually states that it is about the ‘business of fashion’. There was nothing boring or uninspired about these collections — these designers simply had a more business-like interpretation of fashion week.

The best collections struck a happy balance between drama and marketability. Zara Shahjahan, HSY, Khaadi Khaas, Nida Azwer, Shehla Chatoor and Mohsin Ali were all impressive. Shahjahan channeled the international trend for bug prints, a trend seen at Lanvin, Kenzo and Alexander McQueen. She combined breezy wearable pieces with more dramatic arty outfits. Nida Azwer stepped out of her comfort zone and mixed her classic cuts with trendier pieces. While her prints, palettes and embroidery were typically understated and intricate, Azwer opted for a few bold cuts, notably, a voluminous sheer skirt worn over hot pants. HSY’s ‘Sher’ collection mixed cuts, silhouettes and subtle threadwork with aplomb. He showed some particularly avant-garde shalwars and a stunning caped jacket over a sari. This marked improvement over his last PSFW collection and shows he is back at the top of his game. Khaadi Khaas impressed with a whimsical, delicate collection that hit just the right balance between artistry and wearability. Mohsin Ali, meanwhile, put together an elegant collection that was a perfect marriage of his edginess and the Libas labels’ ethereal beauty. Shehla Chatoor’s collection was a striking blend of her trademark: elaborate prints and glitzy glamour. While there were several exquisite red carpet-style gowns, there were also plenty of chic jackets, dupattas and saris, which will have a much more of a market in Pakistan than the gowns.



What impressed most at PSFW was the overall high standard of the collections, but do fantasy collections like Élan’s have a place at fashion week? Decidedly, yes they do. Élan is a successful label that sells trendy desi wear as well as lawn, bridals and the sort of western party wear they show at fashion weeks.

Let the high-street section define desi day-wear trends, instead of aspiring to high fashion. Let the luxury labels show everything from jumpsuits to saris to gowns to shalwar kameez if they feel like it, as long as they display creativity and excellence. Fashion week needs fantasies as well as the business of fashion.

Oxford-grad Salima Feerasta is a social commentator and lover of style in any form or fashion. She tweets@karachista

Published in The Express Tribune, April 20^th, 2014.

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