This weekend was a busy one for a lot of people as the much-awaited event of the season –13th Q Mobile Hum Bridal Couture Week (QHBCW) 2016 – came into town at the Faletti’s Hotel, Lahore.
Choreographed by Vaneeza Ahmed Ali, the three-day event brought the country’s most influential and powerful designers together under one roof, catering to the burgeoning bridal industry in Pakistan. This time also BCW captured the audience’s attention with its majestic decor, stage and of course the collections which were showcased, setting a bar for all future fashion shows in the country.
The red carpet was star-studded, as known faces graced the red carpet with their presence. From HSY to the recent social media sensation Arshad Khan aka Chaiwala.
Kick starting the fashion week, Farhad Humayun opened the show with a performance for designer Mehdi’s ‘Royal Courtyard collection. The bold and jewelled tones in the collection with gold, silver and bronze touches were highlighted elegantly as the silhouettes were used to bring the collection to life.
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The show continued with HEM’s display of the Shahi Muhalla collection depicting the Mughal era, followed by FAS Design Studio’s Mehram collection portraying a tale of love and the charm of beauty inspired by the freedom of nature. The colour palette was muted hues and gold, disseminating the feelings of being in love. The show-stopper for FAS was Imran Abbas, looking handsome as ever.
The highlight of Day 1 was Mohsin Naveed Ranjha’s (MNR) Chaap Tilak collection. The heavily embellished velvet jackets, waistcoats, velvet men’s shoes and the colourful umbrellas were just a plus point apart from the vibrant colour palette. The show-stoppers for MNR were Soch The Band and Mawra Hocane who added glamour to the ramp wearing a sea green MNR outfit, while the jewellery for the segment was by Samreen Vance. Show one concluded with Zonia Anwar’s festive collection titled Daria’i Noor.
Day 1 Show 2 started with a bang with Imperial Voyage by IVY Couture presented by Shazia & Sehr with Iman Ali and Ali Sethi as the show stoppers, followed by Ayesha Imran’s Afsana-E- Ishq with the stunner Momal Sheikh.
The last collection to be displayed on Day 1 was Sobia Nazir’s collection The Mahal, which was an inspiration from the rich culture and heritage of Hawaa Mahal. The collection was all about intricate designs, flawless enamel and stunning craftsmanship. The colour palette for this collection is inspired by pink and red sandstone.
Following the success of Day 1, the next day was a bigger hit as the show started with The House of Arsalan Iqbal displaying his Dhanak (Rainbow) collection, which as the name suggests is a celebration of colours.
Not only that, it paid tribute to the culture of Pakistan and the sub-continent. With in-house produced track ‘Sajahaiaaj’ (a mix of rock and Qawwali) for the show, we saw Munib Nawaz and Mohib Mirza show stopping for the collection.
The show continued with Anees Malik’s collection Paheeli, which was all about romance, poems and riddles. Talking about the inspiration behind his collection Anees Malik said, “I took influence from the art of kalamkari, from how their folklore was embedded into the fabric and taken from village to village to dramatise and tell ancient stories.”
“This compliments the feeling surrounding the bride, the way she is made up to her best, adorned and paraded in all her finery ready to be given away on her wedding day,” he added.
The next display on the runway was by Charcoal inspired from the European colonies that create a sleep pleasure of bold and English tones with enhanced stitching and fabric combination. The show stopper for the collection was Imad Irfani. Followed by Shazia Kiyani;s Mashal-e-Rukhsar with Fizza Ali, adding grandeur to Shazia Kiyani’s collection while Rizwan Jaffri performed on the ramp for the brand.
Show 1 was concluded by Erum Khan’s Nawabzaadi collection, which was inspired by the history of our dynasties. The collection had colours such as shocking pink, maroon and red to merge the Mughal era of Maharajas with contemporary designs.Saba Qamar walked the ramp as the showstopper for EK in a gold and red majestic outfit giving a complete picture of a Nawabzadi.
Show 2 started with Husn-e-Jahan collection by Chinyere. The second day of BCW sure was a star-studded event as Hina Butt’s collection Ladli Begum Sway to Rhythm of Storytellers inspired from Kathak dance with vibrant shades of red in the collection. The show-stoppers for the show were Meekal Zulfiqar and Sadiya Khan.
The finale of the night was Munib Nawaz’s collection Moonlight Romanticism. The collection symbolises the romance between modern fabrics and age-old craftsmanship. It is based on poetry, romance and being in love.
“Taking poetry in calligraphy as our inspiration, we embellish our new age fabrics that have been influenced by the colours of the earth under the moon,” Munib said while talking about the collection.
“Colours for this season are based on deep dark earth and modern technology, creating a look and feel never seen before,” he added.
Osman Khalid Butt, Hassan Niazi, Momar Rana, Wali, Noor, Jana Malik and Noman Jawed walking the ramp for Munib Nawaz.
Thus came the finale of BCW, the most anticipated nights of the bridal week.The show started with Wardha Saleem’s Rangraaz collection with Sonya Hussyn as the show-stopper. The next designer showcasing their collection was Ziggi Menswear’s collection Zawiya. The collection was inspired by their personal travel experiences and each piece had a story to tell and its own journey to portray.The Turkish touch to the collection was a cherry on top. To top it all, the show-stopper for their collection was none other than the very own social media sensation Arshad Khan aka Chaiwala.
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Faiza Saqlain was the third to present her collection Soz Kesimion with Mira Sethi as the show-stopper. The runway was then lit up with Umsha by Uzma Babar’s collection Amore and jewellery by Samreen Vance. The collection had a fusion of modern cuts, designs and traditional artwork. Not only that, the collection was all about beautiful shararas, ghararas and farshi ghararas. The work and embellishments are primarily kora, dabka and nakshi adorned with pearls and sequins. The show stoppers for the segment were the lovebirds Urwa Hocane and Farhan Saeed.
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Show 1 was concluded by the designer duo Asifa & Nabeel with their latest bridal collection Crystalline. The stunning Sumbul Iqbal added grandeur to Asifa & Nabeel’s collection, while Sahara performed on the stage for the brand.
The last segment of BCW began with a bang as Fawad Khan and Humayun Saeed graced the event with their presence. Nickie Nina started with their collection Nouvelle Mariée, with Ushna Shah as the show-stopper. The collection was all about rethinking classics and not traditions.It embraces the romance of royal couturiers of times gone by Nouvelle Mariée is about the new bride: the powerful woman of today.
This was followed by the grand couturier’s segment featuring the gurus of our fashion industry, including Kamiar Rokni, Elan, Nida Azwer and Sania Maskatiya.
Last but not the least the finale of the 13th QMobile HUM Bridal Couture Week 2016 was a star-studded affair by none other than Amir Adnan.
The collection was all about bringing back the era of romance and regal elegance with graceful sherwanis for men and sheer body skimming saris and ghararas.
We admired the interwoven pieces with elements of silk, satin and allure of lacework. The ramp was all about the glitz and glam and the stars with Azfar Rehman, Moammar Rana, Junaid Khan, Hadiqa Kiyani, Tapu Javeri, Ahmed Ali Butt, Fatima Khan, Shamal Q, Redha Misbah, Agha Ali, Momal Sheikh, Hamza Tarar walking the ramp as showstoppers for Amir Adnan.
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Thus marking the end of another successful fashion parade at the Bridal Couture Week 2016. Until next year everyone.