The bold and the brash

Designer Kamiar rokni talks about balancing flamboyance on the runway against flair on the rack.

KARACHI:

What’s a fashion week showcase without a touch of drama, a dash of spunk, and a dip and dive through the realms of fantasy? Designer creations need to be wearable when on retail racks but on the catwalk, they can push boundaries. This was a statement that the House of Kamiar Rokni, comprising the talented triad Kamiar Rokni, Tia Noon and Rehan Bashir, made clear with its ‘The Orientalist’ collection at last year’s PFDC L’Oréal Paris Bridal Week (PLBW).

The showcase featured bridal wear in the form of couture — high-end and stunning. With a diverse colour palette, the pieces depicted an array of florals, paisleys, Oriental patterns and a range of elephants, tigers, parrots and peacocks. Along with the usual lehenga cholis were flamboyant billowy sleeves, elaborately worked blouses and bold boleros. “The collection included straightforward bridal wear, but that being said, I don’t think basic tunics and lehengas impress people anymore,” Kamiar Rokni tells The Express Tribune.



There’s a fine line between being bold and sliding down to garish and gaudy. The House of Kamiar Rokni worked it well, something many designers aren’t able to do. But the fashion house also had a fair share of critics. How could such theatrics be adapted to the quintessential Pakistani wedding? The collection looked good on the catwalk, but wasn’t the kind that could be translated to real-life wedding-wear. “When ‘The Orientalist’ was criticised for being too dramatic, I was surprised by critics’ lack of imagination,” comments Rokni. “The drama is just for the catwalk and the designs then get customised,” he adds.

More than a year later, ‘The Orientalist’ has been tweaked and twisted to take centre stage at many weddings. “The creativity on the catwalk draws in clients, but the workmanship and adaptability of the design induces them to place orders,” the designer states. A view of the design house’s atelier shows wedding wear running the gamut, from the purely traditional to the utterly bold. A pale gold lehenga with a pheasant emblazoned across it has been particularly trending at both red-carpet affairs and weddings.

A sleeve with an intricately embroidered Buddha has been recreated, according to client requirements. “We hadn’t expected the Buddha motif to do well among our clients, but it was so well-crafted that people ordered it as is,” Rokni shares.

Shirts with heavily-worked capes have been recreated without the capes, embroidered jackets have been ordered as separates, and the puffed sleeves have been replaced with slim-fit, tapered versions. A long, shimmery red jamawar ensemble may have proven to be too fantastical for clients, but the embroidered red sash cinched at its waist has been ordered for wearing with saris.



Considering the mostly conventional clientele, many Pakistani bridal couturiers opt for boosting sales by putting forth safe but pretty designs. But Rokni feels, “Clients appreciate a bit of innovation as long as it’s aesthetically pleasing. Even with retail-friendly silhouettes, sometimes, all you need is a cuff here or a puff there to stand out.”

And it is people who wish to stand out that the House of Kamiar Rokni’s clientele constitutes. The label is right up the alley of the modern-day, confident woman, although now, they also have their eye on the typical blushing bride. “We’re usually associated with a bold aesthetic and we’re looking into diversifying onto a prettier, softer canvas,” Kamiar says.

But a ‘pretty’ bridal doesn’t have to be a ‘mundane’ one. This is a point to ponder for the increasing number of bridal designers. Amid some spectacular fashion, the recent PLBW featured a number of boring collections. Why be forgettable when theatrics, if done right, can still bring in the business?

More than anything else, it’s important for a design house to feature regularly at fashion weeks. This is something that the House of Kamiar Rokni failed to do this year, citing the change of store location as the reason why they didn’t have the time to create a new line. Their next flight of fancy is scheduled for next year. We await the splendour, but also hope for greater regularity in the future.

Maliha Rehman is a fashion and lifestyle journalist with an obsessive, compulsive need to write. Log on for more fashion updates on Twitter @maliharehman

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2014.

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