wardrobe
Fashion is a form of expression and has long been influenced by women’s place in society. Women have a natural sensitivity to what they wear, no wonder women have longed played a significant role in fashion. It allows women to express themselves and to showcase their personality and uniqueness. Today, female fashion designers are increasingly making their mark by promoting sustainable products, revolutionising plus-size fashions, and championing inclusive designs.
At the recently held Winter Fashion Gala (WFG), organised by designer Zubair Shah and presented by the Russian Centre for Science and Culture (Friendship House), the emphasis was on women’s fashion. Be it ready-to-wear, haute couture, festive wear, bridal couture, the options to create and design women’s wear are boundless, based on one’s creativity and imagination. Every participating designer exhibited a variation in design and pattern for women’s wear which just goes to show the huge market that every designer wants to tap into when it comes to designing for women.
Having said that, the designers at WFG chose to put a rather myriad selection of women’s wear on the ramp. One could see a colourful mix of trendy attires on the ramp - from jackets and jumpsuits to gym gear and sportswear, ballgowns and costumes to festive wear and bridal-wear. For the grand finale, a hybrid cultural line was chosen - denoting the vibrant colours and traditions that form the rural landscape of Pakistan. The WFG runway showcased it all to the beat of some impressive local tunes.
Opening the show was menswear designer Zubair Shah who presented an array of chocolate-tone formal suits followed by jumpsuits in retro ’70s cuts, prints and styling, followed by a loud printed jackets collection styled with feather-padded shoulders to create a dramatic effect on the fashion ramp. The host and presenters of the YouTube channel iPlus News HD, Syeda Nazia was his showstopper in a smart vibrant red jacket with a fur-lined collar.
A group of fashion graduates from the National Textile University, under the collective title of ‘Culturista’, put on the ramp their 15-piece highly experimental final thesis collection in bold cuts and styling ranging from ruffles tops and frilly saari dresses.
The gym gear and sportswear brand IBEX showed a wonderfully curated women’s wear line in lighter tones and smart fitting, taking it beyond the realm of exercise gear and poised as a mainstream fashion-wear and lifestyle brand.
Among the festive wear and bridal-wear collections, Aamir Jee and Seema Shams’ bridals stood out in luxe fabrics and metal-tone embellishments. Fragrance partner Sillage Fragrances also made a short presentation to introduce their new line of unisex perfumes on the WFG runway.
The grand finale by Zubair Shah culminated WFG in a blaze of colours and textures as he showed a very vibrant cultural line of short kurtas for men crafted from the khaddi handwoven local fabric called ‘Susi’, paired with dhoti shalwars with Sindhi embroidered front panels complete with a bandhini chunri Rajasthani-inspired pagri (turban) worn by supermodel Aasif Rehmaan, and a bandhini chunri ghagra-choli dress with mirror-work embellished lace trimmings for women’s wear. The overall look in both cases was quite dramatic.
Zubair Shah also showcased an ajrak coat which he then presented to the Director of the Russian Centre, Mr Ruslan Mikhailovich Prokhorov, to signify regional cultural and traditional hospitality. Project Manager Ms Rano Gul Khan and Project Coordinator Ms Fariha Aqib were also present
Earlier, the WFG Green Carpet was hosted by television actress and fashion model Natalia Karanjia who engaged guests from the Fashion Journalism class at the Institute of Business Management to socialites such as Danish Tapal and Saqlain Haider of Infini Concepts, besides Sillage CEO and the gym gear and sportswear brand owner IBEX, Mohammad Ahmed. The WFG co-host credit was shared by Syeda Nazia.
The show direction and choreography was by Aasif Rehmaan with hair and makeup of the female models and grooming of the male models by Ilyas Salon, ETN-ECS as the beauty partner, styling of all the models by Zurain Imam, backstage management by Akbar Mirza Sharif, and the students of the Fashion Journalism class at the Institute of Business Management (IoBM) as the green carpet and frontstage ushers, and backstage helpers.