TBCW Day Two: The mantra is to think pink

Cool tones of silver and grey feature heavily, as well as a throwback to the vintage bride of yesteryear

KARACHI:

Think pink: this appeared to be the leading order of the day for Telenor Bridal Couture Week’s second installment. Designers departed from the traditional red hues for their brides, choosing to use a festive pink palette instead.

Tabassum Mughal

The designer remained true to her signature cuts and styling, with long, flowing dresses embellished with red roses, diamantes and pearls featuring heavily in the collection. Mughal’s muse was no ethereal, unobtainable beauty: she spoke volumes with deep necklines and backless tops. However, while the lehnga-cholis and gowns did make a statement, it may not be one that hits the right notes for many. The use of long hemlines and velvet fabric for a summer bride seemed out of place.

Erum Khan

This collection took its cues from the brides of the 1980s, with Khan incorporating vintage kiran and gota in the fabric. With a wide-ranging colour palette running from red and maroon to grey and light pastel shades of pink, ghararasdominated Khan’s collection while net and organza were the primary fabrics. We truly loved the old-school feel to this collection, a throwback to the spring bride of decades past.

Sarah Gandapur

Her sari collection, featuring whites, pinks, purples and copper gold, also featured gota work, as well as kamdani,dabka and mukaish. Gandapur played with form, showing how material can be played with in terms of draping and thus giving greater depth to her collection. The use of jamawaar, lace and chiffon as primary materials was delightful.

Shabnam Naz

Dubai-based designer Naz brought a fusion line to the catwalk, which featured brown, beige and white, and fish-tail gowns. We were bowled over by the gharara collection, with the long hemlines for the shirts. The intricate detailing of florals and extensive use of diamantes gave this collection a modern touch of class and grandeur.

Zainab Chottani

We loved this grey-hued capsule collection to bits. Featuring everything from ghararas to saris, Chottani played with colour contrasts in maroon, red or purple, with much silver wire work. Kamdani was beautifully and effectively employed on the duppattas. With the inclusion of neatly cut sherwanis for grooms, this collection was clearly a winning choice for a bride and groom willing to experiment with cool tones of grey and silver for their big day.

Mansoor Akram

With the use of embroideries in the form of thread wire work, tilla and some gota, Akram’s bridal collection also used velvets for men’s overcoats and women’s sari blouses, thus bringing his collection down a notch for us. While we were not impressed by the use of fabric, we loved the colour contrast set off by the use of deep reds and black.

Uzma Babar

Summer brides take note: these outfits would be perfectly suited to a dholki function. The modern cuts remained rooted in the aesthetics of Eastern apparel, with the inclusion of ghararas, shararas and farshis. Babar used crinkle chiffons and net in beige tones, set off by combinations of ice blue, pink and green.

Arsalan Iqbal

Iqbal’s presentation was unique and ahead of the curve in its approach to a complete bridal collection. We were very happy to note the hues of parrot green and sea green in the jamawaar sherwanis for young shahbalas. Grooms were spoiled for choice with a collection of sherwanis in rust and blue shades, embellished with zardozi work on the front and accessorized with k’ula and khussas. The brides were an equal match – their heavy organza outfits and chiffon dupattas ran the gamut of colours from beige offset by a blazing red to blue and white. Iqbal deftly managed to give his collection a summer vibe without compromising on the rich, regal look he sought to achieve.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 9^th,  2015.

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