Fashion week, as always, is turning out to be quite the roller coaster ride. If Day One represented the high so far then Day Two was certainly the hump. In a set of five designer showcases, only two really managed to stand out and leave a lasting impression. The remaining three, though not as bad as some of the things one gets to witness walking down the ramp, failed to establish their voice and hence couldn’t hit any high notes.
Mahgul made her PLBW debut with the collection, The Trunks of Sabine, which was exquisitely crafted.
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Shamsha Hashwani and Mahgul rule the roost.
Lahore :Fashion week, as always, is turning out to be quite the roller coaster ride. If Day One represented the high so far then Day Two was certainly the hump. In a set of five designer showcases, only two really managed to stand out and leave a lasting impression. The remaining three, though not as bad as some of the things one gets to witness walking down the ramp, failed to establish their voice and hence couldn’t hit any high notes.
Day Two was reserved by the fashion council for designers making their bridal week debut. The schedule was kicked off by eponymous label Mahgul’s first, full bridal collection: The Trunks of Sabine. An exquisitely crafted, technically sound showcase, Mahgul’s debut did the designer full justice. Model Mehreen Syed walked out in a one-of-kind ivory and gold gharara, hand embroidered with 3-D motifs meant to resemble fish scales. Each piece that followed was evident to be a labour of love, constructed by a couturier who understands the craft as opposed to blindly creating clothes that are merely beautiful. Our favourite piece was the navy blue jacket that Nooray Bhatti donned and we loved the fact the styling was kept cohesive by using bejeweled hand harnesses with fluttering ribbons.
Shamsha Hashwani’s sophisticated, genteel collection, A Mughal Mirage was impeccably tailored, superbly embroidered and meticulously thought-out.
Following Mahgul was designer Shiza Hassan who probably generated more buzz with her choice of show-stopper than with her collection. Hassan chose to keep her debut show a family affair by asking Aisam-ul-Haq, her brother and Pakistan’s beloved tennis star, to do the finale walk with her. Coming to the clothes, they were well-constructed and commercially viable though the question of bringing something new to the table remains unanswered. It was a pretty collection but nothing that wowed us with its inventiveness.
Next up were debutantes Farah and Fatima who again failed to find a distinctive aesthetic to claim as their own and sent a collection that was wearable but not exciting or innovative down the runway. The clothes were easy on the eyes but felt inspired by already existing local designs and there was one particular chatta patti gharara that model Zara Abid walked out in that looked rather identical to what designer Nomi Ansari had showcased in his Oudh bridal collection.
Designer Shiza Hassan probably generated more buzz with her choice of show-stopper - tennis superstar Aisam ul Haq - than with her collection.
Saira Rizwan has been a part of the fashion circuit for a while and has previously shown on the Pantene Bridal Couture Week platform but was presenting her first PLBW collection this season. Having seen her clothes on previous occasions we had high hopes from Rizwan that remain unfulfilled. There was no standout moment during the show, no outfit that left any particular impression. Again, the clothes were pretty and will sell but the colour palette was insipid and the cuts and embellishment failed to make one sit up and take notice. Rizwan’s finale outfit, modeled by actor and producer Hareem Farooq, was probably the weakest and also didn’t fit the curvaceous actor well.
Saving the best for the last yet again, Day Two closed on a high note with Shamsha Hashwani’s sophisticated, genteel collection, A Mughal Mirage. Even though it was inspired by Hashwani’s perception of Mughal royalty, opulence and art (if we never see another Mughal inspired collection again it’ll be too soon), the collection brought something new to the table. Impeccably tailored, superbly embroidered and meticulously thought-out, the show bore marks of being spearheaded by a perfectionist, well-versed in the art and craft of fashion. We swooned over the miniature art inspired shawls and can imagine selling a kidney to afford one of them.
— Photography by Faisal Farooqui @ Dragonfly
