Fashion Focus Pakistan Fashion Week's 10 best

April was as a whirlwind month for the Pakistan fashion scene. First, Karachi kicked off Fashion Week Pakistan on April 9, with bloggers and fashion journalists creating a tsunami of real-time coverage via Instagram and Twitter. 

Followed by the Pakistan Fashion Design Council's Sunsilk Pakistan Fashion Week in Lahore, where 46 designers including veterans like Yahsir Waheed and debutante Maghul Rashid presented their summer collections between April 26 and 29.

This season marked the addition of 17 designers from Karachi to the Lahore line-up, allowing the Council to better represent the Pakistan fashion industry. 

Here are the highlights.

1. Strongest debut

Mahgul Rashid made her debut for couture label Nasreen Shaikh, the eponymous label begun by her grandmother, with a capsule collection in Lahore. The designer used old photographs from the Civil and Military Gazette for inspiration, re-printing them onto denim, satin and organza.

2. Best take on tradition

Sania Maskatiya’s 'Aghaz Collection' presented modern interpretations of traditional Pakistani ethnic wear like the salwar kameez and the lacha, a garment similar to the Indian dhoti.

2. Next-gen saris

This season, the Pakistani sari received multiple transformations to endear it to a younger audience.

Designer Misha Lakhani’s sari dress featured a digitally printed drape, styled on a one-shoulder dress and cinched at the waist with a belt. Huma Adnan of FnkAsia used the ethnic staple as inspiration to construct western silhouettes, using pleating techniques to craft skirts and wide-legged pants.

Wardha Saleem bought into the quirky sari trend, using nature as print inspiration. She even paired computer chips and wires using hand embroidery techniques to create statement pieces.

A favourite look off the runway was Saleem's black and white silk sari, worn over a coral top.

3. Warrior women

Fahad Hussayn produced the edgiest collection this season, dressing the warrior women of a mythical world called ‘Praxus’. The collection was inspired by the people of Pakistan who, according to the designer, have “faced every adversity with bravery and courage during the last few years.”

His showstopper was an armour-inspired ensemble -- made of metal, custom-cast and moulded -- was a dress fit for the “Queen of the Praxians”.

4. Pakistan’s next top model

Model Amna Ilyas has earned herself a reputation for inhabiting her garment exactly the way the designer imagines it. So much so designers confess that they make her wear the weakest piece in the collection because she manages to make anything look good.

5. Beyg's bold boots

The stand-out runway accessory this season were Rizwan Beyg’s bright, bold boots. Open-toed and rising up to the calf, the boots were plastered with multi-coloured motifs, like this green pair with orange accents.

6. Far East vintage

East Asia was one of the major sources of inspiration this season on the Pakistani ramp, from vintage Japenese watercolour-inspired kimono dresses by Shamaeel Ansari to chinoiserie print renditions by Khadija Shah for Elan.

Elan's 'Ode to a Nightingale' was the brand’s first foray into western prêt. With a dusky colour palette, designer Khadija Shah used chinoiserie elements like the nightingale, flowers and the full moon on structured skirts and draped asymmetrical dresses.

7. Truck art trend

At Pakistan Fashion Week in Lahore, designer Yahsir Waheed's assymetrical dresses came decorated with the same prints as seen on Karachi’s colourful buses.

“A handful of truck art motifs appealed to me, like the evil eye, which I then made in my own version using crayon and marker,” he says.

Waheed also infused the rugged texture of tyre tracks into his collection, from layering tyre mark prints over other designs to slitting and fraying layers of coloured fabric by hand for a rugged effect.

8. Frida from Karachi

In a collection called ‘Frida goes to Kharadar’ designer Deepak Perwani uses digital prints of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo and her works, pairing them with bold graphic stripes to create a strong visual effect. He employed these prints to cuts and silhouettes reminiscent of Kahlo’s era.

9. Sheer headgear

Designer Maheen Khan had envisioned mesh headgear for her collection ever since she read the IUCN's endangered birds list. With assistance from architect Aarij Hassan, the House of Maheen label constructed 12 different head pieces. The mesh, perched on top of the models' heads, created a nest like feel and a visual statement.

10. Best dressed celebrity

Singer and actress Meesha Shafi is easily named best dressed visitor at Lahore fashion week, sporting a fun, dark vibe on all four days in shades of blue and blacks.

Fashion Focus Atsu Sekhose's tribal ballgowns

In October last year, at his Spring/Summer ’13 fashion week show, designer Atsu Sekhose reclaimed his heritage.

 

“The show was sponsored by the Ministry of Textiles to highlight North Eastern fabrics and weaving techniques," the designer says. "That’s when I discovered a whole range of textiles from the area, which has now become part of my vocabulary.”

 

This season, multiple buyer meetings abroad kept him away from showcasing an Autumn/Winter ’13-14 collection at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week in Delhi. But Sekhose’s seasonal offering, revealed via a sophisticated lookbook, is sumptuous.

 

Featuring intricate embroidery, old Hollywood glamour, a take on the pants-under-ballgown style which Raf Simons did so well at the Dior Fall 2012 couture show -- and of course, a modern re-imagining of tribal textiles from Sekhose’s native Nagaland.

 

“The colour palette of this collection is predominantly black, red and white which is part of my Naga identity. And we’ve used some of the tribal prints interpreted as urban graphics. I didn’t want the clothes to look like costumes, which happens when people stick too closely to the ethnic fabrics. I wanted to translate them into garments that can be worn by anybody,” the Delhi-based designer says. 

 

The similarities to opulent red carpet labels like Oscar de la Renta and Marchesa ring a bell, but Sekhose has found his couture niche in the tribal-inspired ballgown. There will be no voluminous anarkalis or 24 kali lehengas from this Indian designer.

 

“I’m inspired by classic Hollywood glamour,” he affirms. “Most of my clients are from the Middle East and evening wear is what they expect from me. I’ve learnt from my own mistakes, and now I understand my market.”

Fashion Focus Best On-Trend Jewelled Trinkets

Jewellery is not always about the big statement pieces. Tiny charms in all fun shapes are making a big noise this season. Whether you like them as key fobs, pendants or bracelets, Vogue.in brings you the best quirky trinkets to add a little lady luck to your day.

 

Pendants: Gone are the days when you needed a big, blingy necklace to make a statement. Go for the subtler option with dainty pendants. Vogue.in recommends the rose cut diamond flower shaped pendant from Rose to add some elegance to your look. For those who like to keep things fun and interesting, try the ‘Fruits’ sapphires and emeralds pendant by de Grisogono.

 

Key Fobs and Bag Charms: If the idea of something dangling off your body doesn’t appeal to you, Try a different approach by attaching charms to your handbag or to a keychain. Vogue.in recommends the fine chain gold tassel bag charm by Gucci for that glamorous edge. Alternatively, give your house keys a trendy makeover with the brass charm key fob by Yves Saint Laurent.

 

Fashion Focus Pernia Pop-Up Shop to get bigger

It’s been a little over a month since the launch of India's most stylish fashion e-commerce site, Pernia Pop-Up Shop. From veteran Indian designers like Anamika Khanna to upcoming ones like Nimish Shah, fashion stylist Pernia Qureshi’s latest web venture promises to be a platform for Indian design.

“I wanted to do something new and something bigger in my career. I felt like there was a huge lack and a gap for a really premiere fashion website in India,” explains Qureshi.  Six months after the initial idea came about; Vogue.in finds out about the kinds of women buying designer wear in India.

What are the shop's best selling pieces?

People love accessories and we’ve noticed a lot of the costume and semi precious jewellery are flying out. Saris and tunics have been doing really well too. Medium sized clothing is the most popular size so far. 

 

What’s the remotest city you have an order from and what are they buying?

Even though in the past month, we have had a lot of traffic coming from America and have clients from England, Singapore and New Zealand the ratio between domestic and international leans more towards the domestic. We sent an order to Vishakapatnam, the lady bought a Tamil print tunic from Masaba. We’ve also sent clothes to Orissa.

 

What are your future plans?

By the end of this month, we will have 32 Indian designers retailing their pieces at the shop, including Nachiket Barve, Eina Ahluwalia, Bansri Jewellery and Savio Jon.  We’ve also been getting requests from men, so we will launch menswear on the website soon.