Naysayers for good reason

Surprises and shocks in the winners list

KARACHI:

There was hope against hope that despite surprises and snubs among the nominations, the Lux Style Awards would boast a well-rounded winner line-up. But once again, what we got was a mix of wins and losses, some agreeable, some not so.

Hear, hear

Amna Ilyas bagged the ‘Best Model Female’ award, which was truly well-deserved but certainly not timely. Having earned her spurs in the entertainment industry soon after she set foot in it, she should’ve been presented the prize at least a year or two ago, especially when she was in the spotlight due to her stint in Zinda Bhaag. In the ‘Best Emerging Talent’ fashion section, the happening Sadaf Kanwal rightly bagged the award. With multiple fashion shows and magazine covers already to her credit, Sadaf is definitely one to watch.



In order to promote emerging talent, veteran actor and former instructor at the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) awarded scholarships to students of Napa and the National College of Arts for excellence in music, performing and visual arts. A similar scholarship was presented to students from the Asian Institute of Fashion Design and the Pakistan Institute of Fashion Design.

On the fashion front, another rightful claimant to the ‘Best Model Male’ award was Shehzad Noor and his portfolio certainly backs his win. No surprises when it comes to Nadir Feroz Khan of NFK Photography, who won the ‘Best Photographer’ award for his vibrant career trajectory. We secretly hoped that Abdullah Harris, a relatively new entrant, would bag the award, but better luck next time.

We give the green light to Nomi Ansari to continue weaving magic with his signature use of a riot of colour and skill, as that rightly bagged him an award in the ‘Best Fashion Design (Bridal)’ category. Truly well-deserved.

The naysays

There’s no gainsaying that Nabila is a stylist bar none but that shouldn’t overshadow new names from getting the spotlight. Having styled a string of celebrities at fashion weeks, award nights and film promotions, her ‘Best Hair and Makeup’ category win didn’t come as a surprise. We just wish the LSAs see a different winner the next time.

LSA winner Farhan Saeed with Urwa Hoccane

In 2013, the LSAs courted controversy when Ayesha Omar bagged an award in the ‘Best Album’ category, which featured much more accomplished musicians as nominees, including Sajjad Ali, Usman Riaz and Sajid and Zeeshan. History repeated itself when Zoe Viccaji’s Dareeche got the award for ‘Best Album’, despite the nomination of two well-rounded albums in the category —  Mekaal Hasan Band’s Andholan and Abbas Ali Khan’s Tamaam Alam Mast. With tracks, such as Ghungat and Kinarey, and a new Indo-Pak line-up, Andholan was among the critically-acclaimed albums of the year. Abbas’ Tamaam Alam Mast was another notable release at a time when there was a dearth of album releases.

Back to fashion, designer duo Sana Safinaz bagged awards in three out of the four categories they were nominated in —  Pret, Lawn and Luxury Pret. We wonder why labels and designers, such as Gulabo and Sania Maskatiya, were snubbed in the Pret section. In terms of lawn, Élan and Maria B have done markedly better than Sana Safinaz in terms of design aesthetics. Among those worthy of winning in the Luxury Pret section were Shehla Chatoor and Maheen Karim.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2015.

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