With aim and potential to go global, Pakistani fashion resonates well with the international trends. This one can safely conclude after attending the seventh edition of PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week. Our iconic designers and eclectic style of our fashion forward crowd are remarkable. The four-day larger-than-life event with all its glamour and shine brought together the who’s who of the fashion industry including fashion designers, top models, journalists, some international buyers, bloggers, and social media reporters at the Expo Centre in Lahore. With each passing season the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week is getting better.
The fashion week included ramp shows by leading retail labels, high street fashion brands as well as textile houses. Many up and coming designers as well as five debutant designers established the fact that Pakistani fashion is becoming more innovative in both men’s wear and women’s wear. Fused in ethnic and our cultural heritage the designers’ cuts, selection of colour palette and use of differnt fabrics showed that they were all well aware of international fashion trends. The collections showcased also made the fashion forecast about the direction that Pakistani fashion is moving to.
The fashion week was also a time to celebrate two decades of our fashion icons Deepak Perwani and Hassan Shehryar Yasin (lovingly called HSY). Both presented new collections, which were a testimony to their creative genius. Deepak presented ‘Tre’s Chic – Extension’ a spring/summer 2014 collection inspired by trendy Pakistani woman who loves fashion. He has infused fabric with digital print, studded-beaded embroidery, tie-dye along with stretch and crush fabrics. The images of New York, London and some other fashion capitals on the fabric looked trendy.
In the spirit of his 20th year motto, “Giving is the new Achieving” HSY presented a collection titled ‘Sher’ which was in homage to and in support of, women empowerment. To this end HSY collaborated with the Anjuman-e-Khuddam-e-Rasul Allah, a NGO in Shergarh, district Okara, which is working for improving education and poverty alleviation. The collection featured both men’s wear and women’s wear based in luxurious fabrics including pure chiffons, silks, and georgettes paired with indigenous embroideries fashioned by the female artisans of the village Shergarh.
Prominent designers who presented their collections in the ramp shows included Nickie Nina, Sania Maskatiya, Ali Xeeshan, Mohsin Ali, Elan, Muse, Shehla Chatoor, Nida Azwer, Maria B, Omar Farooq, Akif Mahmood, Zara Shahjahan, Rizwan Beyg, Roodaba Omar, Fahad Hussain, Arooj Ahmed, Teena by Hina Butt, Arslan Iqbal and Sahar Atif. Top models of Pakistan participated in the ramp shows, which thanks to HSY whose role as director of choreography has changed the complexion of these shows.
All the shows were a huge success mainly due to the perfect choregraphy and the on stage little bit of drama technique. The selection of songs that were played for the ramp shows was good. These included funky dance numbers like Baby Doll Dunya Pital Dee, English pop songs as well as popular Bollywood and local numbers. The ambience of the show place looked trendy when booming instrumental pop music was used in the background. The audience enjoyed the music as many could be seen tapping their feet to the trendy tunes.
Holding a fashion event is not the work and idea of a single person. It is all team work that counts to make the event a success. The front stage managment was by Maheen Kardar Ali, backstage management by Product 021, Sara Shahid of Sublime by Sara as the official spokesperson for the PFDC, logistics and operations by Eleventh Retail and photography by Faisal Farooqui and the team at Dragonfly. Hum TV/Style360 were the official media partners.
It was heartening to see hundreds of people taking keen interest in the stalls at the exhibition area and in the ramp shows. Some were regular visitors turning up every day while others managed to see the ramp shows of their favourite designers. Like always the crowd was cooperative and hats off to the Lotus PR team and the ushers, who managed the event in a very efficient way. There could have been some shoves in the rush of people at the entrance but that is understandable.
PFDC’s mission to further fashion retail and synergising high end design is going well. We are presenting excerpt of Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the PFDC, Sehyr Saigol statement to better understand the situation. Sehr said: "the PFDC shifts gears, bringing the momentum inwards, recognizing the even greater need to work with brands to build market access and visibility within Pakistan. To this end we embrace an approach that focuses on building and institutionalising the strength of designers and brands through national retail prowess and accessibility. To further this, the PFDC instituted a clear mandate on designer accessibility, not accepting any applications from established brands to participate at the PSFW show platform unless they demonstrate a visible commitment to retail presence and accessibility. In this same spirit, we are proud to have pioneered the concept of multi-brand High Street retail with our PFDC High Street store, and what is even more significant, is its growth in the last year alone. At the PSFW, we now have 3 dedicated show days for High Street brands. We also work very closely with all of our emerging designers and several mainstream brands, to help hone their collections for the runway and retail alike. The idea is to help more established brands grow their markets and access and to also introduce entirely new talent to the industry - the PFDC pioneered the entire concept of a new designer programme precisely to work closely with burgeoning talent in the country and then provide such talent the production and retail support through the PFDC’s own stores. We are fortunate to have such committed sponsors and partners for the work we do at the PFDC, which gives us the flexibility and impetus to continue to grow our fashion week platforms.”
At the PFDC event Pakistani fashion was at its best and all because of the great fashion designers, professional models and the fashion enthusiasts who proved to be a wonderful audience. Over the years PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week has become a platform for the launch of new products, marketing campaigns and promotional activities. This shows the growing influence of this event.