A blast of colours against all white

Fashion design students of Karachi School of Art exhibit the fruit of their labour at thesis display

KARACHI: It is a blast of colours as one looks around the thesis display of first-year diploma students of the Karachi School of Art (KSA) fashion design. However, the works of final-year students depict a starkly contrasting, all-white picture.

Truck art is definitely getting trendier as is evident in the accessories of casual wear from jewellery and slippers to handbags and other items. Students exhibited the fruit of their labour on Tuesday at KSA — their work intricate and bold at the same time.





A glance at an individual student's board reveals that designing and crafting is not a straightforward task. Although similar for all students, the theme of truck art differed in terms of its execution. Below the research posters, the mood board indicated the areas from where the inspiration was taken. Here, too, the majority had taken forests as their moods and picked up elements such as prints of animals, leaves and barks and incorporated them in bold, colourful patterns of truck art. Ramsha Khizar Hayat had a necklace, slippers, a clutch and jewellery ready on her table. "The theme is similar because students are assigned only one topic," she explained. "But of course it can be interpreted differently."



Though beads, stones, cutwork and other complimentary embellishments were extensively used by girls in their accessories, it was the necklace that stood distinct. "It is made of pure fabric, especially the petals of the locket," said Iqra Ahmed, pointing at the folds of the flower on her necklace. "It is easier to make compared to other materials and takes less than a day," she said, while talking about time constraints of a thesis. Her bright blue, truck art-themed accessories were a combination of mirror work and stones.

All white

In contrast to the booming colours coming off the stalls of first-year students, the final-year students had it all sombre and dull with their drapery. The central theme was based on mermaid-style gowns made of calico material in shades of white, tucked in graceful folds around standing dummies.





"The whole idea was to use calico and we went for its original colour," explained Jaweria and Tooba, who had worked together in designing, cutting, stitching and finally draping of the gown. "It can be dyed into different colours like other fabrics but this is how it went best with the mermaid [gown]."

While the obvious difference was in the technique of draping in the works, it was the not-too-obvious details that actually mattered. For instance, the duo said that the work was strenuous because of the plates on the material as only one mistake would have them start right from the beginning. "The method was taught to us but we all introduced some of our own creativity into it," said Jaweria. From silver sequins and big white flowers to small bows, the mermaid-style gowns had both the eastern and western touch.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2015.