Just as the weather changes, the fashion does too. Also, summers are just around the corner, the country’s best designers and retail brands are presenting their trends for Spring/Summer 2017 at the 11th Fashion Pakistan Week at Pearl Continental Hotel in Karachi. The show was choreographed by Freiha Altaf.
Fashion Pakistan celebrates its 10th Year Anniversary this fashion week edition. Not only that, Fashion Pakistan has been holding bi-annual fashion weeks within the country to encourage and promote designers and brands in the global marketplace. It pioneered the concept of fashion weeks in Pakistan in 2010. It also formalised the business of fashion as it launched world renowned talent in the industry.
The Day 1 of Fashion Week Pakistan (FPW) S/S 17 was a treat for the audience. First of all, because the lineup for the day included collections by acclaimed designers. From vibrant colours for women to monochrome men’s collection, it sure was a good start to the Fashion Week.
The designers included Ayesha Farook, Nauman Arfeen, Nida Azwer, Tena Durrani, House of Arslan Iqbal, Humayun Alamgir and FNKASIA. It also featured a special segment ‘Bank AlFalah Rising Stars’ which showcased upcoming new designers like Tooba Chottani, Areej Iqbal, Fatima Abdul Rauf and Zafar Ahsan.
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Celebrities like Aimen and Muneeb Butt, Sumbul Iqbal, Imran Abbas, Asim Azhar, Syra Shahroz walked the ramp as showstoppers for different designers.
The night started with Ayesha Farook’s collection ‘La Plage’ giving the audience the summer feel with the marine life prints, embellishments and embroideries adding a touch of the European chic to the collection. The vibrant colour palette was inspired by the sky, sea life and the sun.
The night was followed by Nauman Arfeen’s collection ‘Wild Wild West’. As the name suggests, the idea behind this collection was to play with something patterned, something black and something fresh. Playing with wild prints, western fusion attire and eye-catching accessories and props like bags, headgears and shoes added a balance to the ‘wild’ look.
FNKASIA by Huma Adnan was next in line; the Avian collection was all about off-white, beige and blue colour palette. With cuts and patterns that make this collection a unique one, the collection is inspired by winged animals and their ability to travel to great distances. “Just like the bird’s ability to spread wings and fly is my motivation behind taking risks with cuts and patterns,” said Huma while talking about the collection.
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Next in line was The House of Arslan Iqbal displaying his collection ‘Nocturnal’ which is highlighting the fabric used this season. With a balance of silk and merino wool, the colour palette mainly focused on charcoal greys and burnt browns.The focus on craftsmanship and tailoring for the coming season is a nod to the design house’s inspiration for the collection. From dinner jackets, vests to coats and pants along with customised shoes, the idea is to create a dramatic and atmospheric feeling while still giving a rich feeling of glamour.
The next was the special Rising Star segment displaying the news designers very first collection. Starting from Tooba Chottani, her collection was all about floriography, used in the Victorian era to convey messages. “My garments show floriography through abstract hand painting and expresses a positive feeling through the use of different colours and strokes,” said Tooba.
Up next was Areej Iqbal who showed how she imagines music elements in her head. From colours like black, off white, skin pink; her collection displayed sheet music, beats and variations that are required while singing. Followed by Fatima Abdul Rauf, who’s collection was a relation to understanding Sacred Geometry. Her collection’s basic idea was to show how complicated things can be explained via simpler designers. The silhouettes were minimalistic yet futuristic. The vibrant colour palette of grey, black and neon yellow kept intact the idea for the design to be minimalistic.
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The last one from the rising talent category was Zafar Ahsan, who’s collection is based on a development of the concept that is derived from Karachi’s map. “The shapes and lines coming from the map and the areas were translated into silhouettes and different techniques,” said Zafar about his collection. The colour palette was mainly shades of brown, ivory, black, ochre, rusts and shades of green. The touches of gold and silver in the collection connotes the concept of Karachi being known as the city of lights.
Humayun Alamgir’s collection ‘Ayaash’ portrays the story of a royally spoilt brat who knows no mercy when it comes to style. While talking about his collection Humayun said, “Some say men who wear costumes at night are vigilantes, we call them #Ayaash.”
As the night went on Urdu1 Pictures gave a curtain raiser to its upcoming movie ‘Mehrunisa V Lub You” in a special segment with its cast. The second last collection for the night was Nida Azwer’s ‘The Susleme’ Luxury Pret collection that embraces the vibrant colours draw from Uzbek textiles. The collection is all about silks, organzas, experimental embroidery and textures with beads, ribbons and crystals.With a colour range of saffron, coal, brown, magenta, hues of blue, black and white; the silhouettes were all about contemporary to traditional designs.
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The finale was Tena Durrani’s collection ‘The Debut’ portraying the TD girl as the epitome of romanticism. The collection was all about signature embellishments, subtle balance of print draping and texture. The golden accessories used in the collection allowed TD’s ethos to stay with the audience throughout the collection. The show ended with Syra Shahroz showstopping for Tena Durrani in a beautiful pastel coloured dress.
FPW Day1 sure ended on a successful note. Thus setting the bar high for the final day!