PSFWSPECIALREPORT
House of Kamiar Rokni, Khaadi Khaas, Zara Shahjahan and Zonia Anwaar hit the nail on the head while HSY and Saira Shakira struggle to find their groove.
Lahore
After two days of shows that started and ended bang on time, PFDC let the ball drop on the third day. It wasn’t a disaster but everything was pushed by an hour. Luckily it turned out to be another good night for fashion; in fact the four-day fete showcased some incredible, innovative collections that staved off ennui despite the hectic routine. It seemed to be the day of runway returns with Khaadi Khaas and House of Kamiar Rokni making a pret comeback. Khaadi’s collection by and large was fun and wearable, while Kami and his couture triumvirate as usual bowled it out of the park. Zonia Anwaar was also a revelation – her showcase and the quality of presentation pleasantly surprised us. Zara Shahjahan’s collection is what girl’s dream of wearing in our sweltering summer while Saira Shakira and Hassan Shehryar Yasin’s self-empowering collection seemed to miss the mark.
Khaadi Khaas
We have missed Khaadi bespoke! The ethnic brand uses the pret platform to showcase a different side that’s modern and more cosmopolitan. This year was no different and even though their collection veered towards athleisure, with a monochrome colour palette punctuated by pops of neon, it still brought something new to the table. Sleek and dynamic, Khaadi’sTranslucentsent some great pieces down the runway, like Amna Baber’s silver and hot pink Swarovski encrusted sweatshirt, Fia’s asymmetrical outfit, Zara Abid’s black and pink tribal jacket, and Sunita’s monochrome embellished jumpsuit. There were some misses though, including the opening and closing numbers modelled by the faces of Khaadi - Sadaf Kanwal and Amna Ilyas, respectively. What also didn’t work were two striped skirts that were very reminiscent of Muse’s collection from last year. While you can’t copyright stripes, there was something unsettlingly familiar about them. Skirts aside, the rest of the collection worked well together, was sharp, hip and very wearable.
House of Kamiar Rokni
This trio is a powerhouse of talent. It is genuinely hard to critique House of Kamiar Rokni’s collection because it was simply impeccable. The triumvirate showcased an extended version of their Fashion DNA capsule collection, with a new set of outfits added for our viewing and your retailing pleasure. It featured a classic colour palette on organza, raw silk, karandi and net while playing on textures by mixing rilli, ari and zardozi embroideries. We also noticed that the brand had a completely different set of models walking for them, having picked the tallest from the PFDC provided pool and then adding some leggy lasses of their own. Rehmat Ajmal, one of their exclusive recruits, wore a stunning dull gold and silver top with pants that we’d be glad to see hanging in our closet. Another such piece was Farwa Kazmi’s flared white peplum top. Their styling was also on point and we loved the uniform pink eyes and neutral lips. Walking down the runway, House of Kamiar Rokni’s collection was a no-frills presentation that let the clothes do the talking.
Zonia Anwaar
Anwaar’s Kievan drew inspiration from Ukrainian artisanal craft and embroidery, putting a new spin on flirty feminine. Her use of colour was minimal with red and blue embellishment on brilliant white fabric that was complimented by tan accessories. It was easy, breezy and summer-friendly, with a bohemian vibe; you’d want to wear Kievan on your resort vacation. She lost the plot a bit with Hira Shah’s strangely bridal ball skirt but the rest of her collection was strong enough to redeem the few off-key pieces that she showcased. Her accessories also stood out - the fringed cross body bags, tasselled necklaces and oversized envelope clutches had editors calling dibs on the pieces as models walked by. Our only concern and query now revolves around Anwaar’s lack of retail. Where and when will she stock a collection with so much potential?
Saira Shakira
Before we begin, can we just state that over-styling is the bane of Pakistani fashion’s existence? Saira Shakira show glimmers of great potential but their collection this time was lacklustre. Printed, embellished and layered, there was just too much going on all at once which meant that their attention to detail had also been compromised. The fit on some of their pieces was also off, like Fayeza Ansari’s corset that fluttered about with a life of its own. We liked the way they paired men’s accessories like bow and neck ties to add a hint of androgyny to their outfits but it was too little to balance the onslaught of embellishment. Let’s just say we were left underwhelmed.
Zara Shahjahan
What a delicious collection. From the neutral and blush pink colour palette to the tan accents, funky sunglasses (that we really want) and relaxed, flowy silhouettes, everything about Shahjahan’s collection was a hit. We can imagine living in this collection all summer long, with its comfortable, airy cuts, stylish take on the oversized kurta and L.A festival girl glamour. We were also glad to see the designer depart from her signature florals and adopt a more pattern-based approach for the Sartorialist. Despite receiving rave reviews on Instagram already, the designer also came under fire for having a piece nearly identical to a kurta by Misha Lakhani. Shahjahan’s official Instagram though uploaded a post in the morning, with pictures of both outfits stating that the brand was unaware of Lakhani’s version since it had never been showcased, and would not produce their outfit out of respect for the brand. Kudos for the affirmative action!
HSY
Hassan Sheheryar Yasin loves himself and he isn’t afraid to show it. His fashion video served as context to his collection but Maram Aabroo’s cinematography and Bilal Ashraf’s unbelievably cute dimples couldn’t save it. An ode to empowerment, HSY’s ethos was to create clothes that would make every woman feel confident in her skin, but fell victim to its own over-dramatic conceptualisation. Sunita Marshall’s cropped matador inspired jacket and Ashraf’s finale jacket were our favourite pieces from a collection that looked kitsch and costume-y. Some of the accessories were also fun, like the carved wooden clutches or the tassel necklaces. We do give Sheru marks for drama. The clothes though, left us a little at loss.
PS. Watch this space for a comment on the high street shows tomorrow.
–Photography by Faisal Farooqui Dragonfly