#PBCW2014 : Bridal Fever 1/3

Nomi Ansari’s Finale for Day 1

Attending a Bridal Couture week is like going to a Big Fat Pakistani wedding, with glitz, glamour and utmost fashion. Its a three-day long wedding, where you come across all the right people and all the fit bodies, with model faces. 

Amir Adnan

This year’s Pantene Bridal Couture Week started off with a mystic collection by Amir Adnan. His collection titled, “Mann kunto maula, fa haaza Ali-un maula”, showcased khaakhi brown, coral, and pale greens sleek cut- kurtas, pyjamas, shalwars, vests, short jackets, and sherwanis in one organic fabric- linen.

Some of the best pieces from the collection sported calligraphic printed embroidery on vests and jackets, adding a distinct, ethnic touch to it. In all, it was a cohesive collection that started a three-day couture week with a bang.

Mansoor Akram

Mansoor Akram was up next, and I was sure in for a shocker (a pleasant one, thankfully). Akram, redefined bridal voluptuousness on the ramp via his bespoke pieces. There were heavy doses of nude and emerald green hued backless gowns, followed by a beautiful mesh of electric red and black Sherwanis and shararah.

While I could spot, wide legged palazzo (almost skirt-esque) on boys as the next cringe-worthy trend, I was pleased to see deep cut saris and sheer net cloth used for sleeves and back making a comeback on the ramp!

Sana Abbas

Sana Abbas was next and she played safe with bridal wear consisting of long shirts, layered shararahs and tuxedo shirts. Collection titled ‘Masakali’, chiffons, hand-woven silks, jamawar and net were incorporated with palest of  color palette which made the entire collection contemporary and wearable. It was fresh, and it was summery, and sometimes that’s exactly what you need. 

One of my favorite pieces from the collection was three-shaded tie and dye shararah that danced in cascading waterfall ruffles across the ramp, and had intricate embellished detailing which made it stand out from the rest. Along with that, Sana Abbas should be applauded for her fresh take on using sorbet yellow and red combination for Bridal wear!

Also, I spotted, a full-sleeved show shopper. It was overwhelming to know that  someone’s thinking along the lines of conservative-brides. It was very molvi-friendly!

Ironically, J. is an official fragrant partner for PBCW2014. Hmm, connection maybe?

Zainab Chottani

The first half of the show was brought to a close by Zainab Chottani’s Shehnai  that encapsulated all three major events of a traditional wedding. Consisting of embroideries, embellishments like gota work with chatapati, and traditional cuts, ‘Shehnai’ began with showcasing flowy goddess gowns that gathered, tucked and fell loose in rumpled luxury.

The color palette chosen for the engagement segment, was mist brown, mixed with neon pinks, silver and peachy pinks, with the boys, sporting soft beige sherwanis. What I loved the most about Chottani’s collection was the finesse in flares and sheer nets which epitomized austere elegance in the truest of sense. 

An energetic performance by a dance group was next, followed by shocking jolts of vibrant pinks, purples, and yellows consisting of Chottani’s Mehndi capsule. Here, color blocking was done in full swing  and at its best! (kind of reminded me of Nomi Ansari’s RUNG)

Soft hued engagement dressed  followed the vibrant hued mehndi ones, ending the showcase with a midnight blue valima affair. The swoop-back pleated twill, glamorized shirtwaists and layered lenghas made it unequivocally chic. Sheer coats and overalls were also used to show jamawar fabric used  inside.

And while, the crowd swooned over actor Ahsan Khan walking on the ramp with a model in his arms, I swooned over the new trend of using net dupatta to cover bride’s head, which riffs romantically as you walk!

Kuki Concepts

The second half of first day started off with an old-school showcase of Bidai by Kuki Concepts. The first set of clothes displayed excessive use of  gota work and vintage Banarsi, karchobs in traditional ghararas, lehngas, cholis and rani coats.

The bright bursts of colors spread all over the ramp, as low-sung skirt and gotta tassel work dupatta made its way to the ramp. Zahid Khan’s idea was to focus on basic cuts and the other half of his collection came off as the strongest, consisting of gold, bronze and beige lengha cholis that epitomized elegance. Atika Odho and Shamoon Abbasi were the show stoppers. 

Tena Durrani

Tena Durrani’s Camellia Progressive Collection followed suit and it hit all the right notes. Smothered in sequin and embellished gowns which swelled and slithered across bodies, Tena Durrani incorporated  silk, net, brocade, organza and velvet in her designs. While the shamrock, roses and thistle patterned boarder and bodices made the entire collection fit for a Springy-Summery wedding, the sheer net dupattas with excessive floral sequin work and layering of the lengha cholis added flattering flares to the entire look.

Tena Durrani

Durani used quirky color combination of Wedgewood blues, blushing garden hues, garnets and fucias to showcase her signature designs that wooed me over.

Nomi Ansari

The well deserved slot for the finale was given to Nomi Ansari to spread the love-bug ‘ISHQ’. After his grand slam FPW6 finale, the expectations and anticipation for his were running high.  And honestly, Nomi did not disappoint.

Nomi brilliantly showcased his sartorial creed in crafting, hand-woven fabrics and rare embroidery techniques,  in a vibrant, colorful fashion that is his brand signature. Using the perfect shade of electric red, he infused silver and gold intricate hand-work to conjure up fabulous silhouettes, which remained traditional yet contemporary. 

In all, it was a phenomenal collection, that made me fall in love with red all over again. I can only trust Nomi Ansari to transform a quintessential bridal wear into something voluptuously attractive.

No.

And since this post is strictly fashion, lets not talk about two performances that took place. They were absolute buzz kill.

Oh, all the things we do for entertainment…

P.s.s Day 2 to follow.

 

#FPWS2014 Spring/Summer ’14 – Day 2.

Anxiously waiting for the show to begin.

The Day 2 of Fashion Pakistan Week 06 Spring/Summer 2014 that followed Day 1, came out stronger and better.

It started off with Fahad Hussayn’s ‘Aristo-Anarchy’ which epitomized grunge glamour complete with miniature hats and origami eye brows. The collection was everything, high-fashion, luxurious and feminine.  What I loved the most, were the micro-mini hemlines with intricate embellishments and khusas on boys.

The Hair Trend Show by Toni&Guy showcased Maheen Karim’s collection, paired with vibrant red highlights which were not only hip, but seamlessly elegant. Ayesha Omer was the celebrity show stopper, who looked absolutely ravishing in a laced floor length gown.

The Maybelline Trend Show  came out stronger than expected. It had three capsules by Sania Maskatiya, Sara Shahid and Sanam Chaudhri. Starting off with 1950’s referenced of  Gatsby, the models sported short hairdos paired with taselled knee-length dresses. This was followed by retro era displaying mix of blacks and gold and the 90’s Barbie inspired look, telling us that ‘Fashion Rules’ and indeed, it does.

Nauman Arfeen’s ‘Haute after Dark’ was one of the strongest contenders of day two. His self-weaved paisley jamawaars  and sleek cuts reflected his precession to display a collection of worth. Comparing this collection to last year’s, Nauman, has defiantly upped his game. The collection was coherent, ranging from dusk to navy blue hued traditional wear paired with sexy leather and fur bags, cross bodies and brief cases.

LOVED the two-wheeler with JJ logo.

It was such an honor to finally witness Pakistan’s longest standing brand of bags do so well this time around at Fashion Week. It finally seemed as if, the creative heads have sat down to shed off their ‘aunty’ image and to give the audiences something hip and trendy to buy off racks. Jaffer Jees, had in a way re-invented their logo to a palate that looked fabulous on the logo printed collection designed by Warda Saleem. Note: DKNY & Lacoste also showcased logo prints at the NYFW SS ’14.

Mover over Google Maps, we’ve got Gulabo to lead us the way! Maheen Khan never fails to impress me, and this time, with her ‘proud to be a Pakistani’ ideology fashionably led its way straight into my heart.  Gulabo wooed the crowds by showcasing digitally printed funky road maps and monuments on flimsy chiffons and silks.

The show that should’ve been the finale and absolutely stole the spotlight was none other than Inaaya headed by Naushaba. Inaaya is a brand with a beautiful cause and even more beautiful clothes. It encapsulated heritage with contemporary fashion, conjuring enthralling pieces that swooned everyone off their feet. There was a wide range of long and short dresses with monochrome base and short bursts of color. My favorite was a cropped top over an embellished gaghra which was gorgeously elegant.

Everything that followed Inaaya thereon, failed to impress me. This Spring/Summer ’14 Sheep plans on opening an exclusive line by the name of Black Sheep, focusing at evening and party wear.  And after the showcase, it definitely did leave a black mark over a relatively sophisticated label. Neither the digital bird prints on silk tunics worked the ramp as hoped, nor did the gorgy embellishments work their charm.  Sheep was in fact, the darkest, weakest link of all.

The finale of Day 2 was Shamaeel Ansari with her ‘Tughra’ collection, inspired by patterns of Turkish Royal Iznik tiles and ceramics. And lately I’ve been viewing anything with the word ‘Turkish’ with skepticism (It’s all Kivanc Tatlitug’s fault).  Shamaeel’s Turgha had beautiful prints, but the odd tailoring failed to coherently gel with the capsule.

Best of Day 2: Inaaya, Gulabo, Fahad Hussayn & Jaffer Jees.

#FPWS2014 Spring/Summer ’14 – Day 1.

My first thoughts on this year’s Fashion Pakistan Week 06 : Shorter, Sultrier, Sartorial.

Fashion Pakistan Week Spring/Summer 2014.

Compared to last year, where hemlines were longer, backs cover and necklines higher, this year’s Fashion Week seem to get the jab at rebelliousness. There were not only deeper slits, backless dresses and shorter hemlines but there was, a sense of voluptuousness reverberating off the stage.

The much awaited show, after multiple delays started 1.30 hour later than already planned. (But then, what is a Fashion Pakistan Week without the delays?) First show of the first day was none other than, HSY’s pret wear labelled ‘venom’. Inspired by snakeskin, HSY used chevron lines to play with nude, black and accents of red and orange hues. This entire year HSY plans to celebrate his 2 decade of excellence and success in the fashion industry. While intricate detailing of bead and sequin work on  floor length gowns added glamour on stage, the chevron lines on coats and jumpers were like an ode to ranking service in military. One of the best pieces in his collection was the floor length nude gown with black bead work and splash of red hue under layer.

Second up was the Bank Alfalah Graduate Show, showcasing work of four IVS and AIFD graduates. Although the work young designers looked promising there was still plenty room to work upon the sartorial execution of their ideas. There were however, sparks of creativity lurking out of grunge military tutus, dusk hued gowns with accessorized guns and McQueen inspired color pop shoes which deserves to be applauded. What I loved the most about this particular segment was the encouraging first row of designers, Nomi Ansari, Deepak Perwani, Ali Xeeshan, who enthusiastically applauded and boost egos of these young designers.

A Lala Textiles capsule followed, introducing their SS-2014 print, styled by Designer Warda Saleem. Whats interesting here is, that if you showcase commercial lawn prints with designer pret wear, there’s bound to be disappointments – unless of course, you’re Gul Ahmed and you know how to sexy up your lawn into voluminous numbers to woo the crowds. Lala Textile clearly lacked the glamour, oomph and fine tailoring. There were too many prints sewn together like left over pieces and they did more than just color-blocking – they simply clashed and looked horrible. Even with Iman Ali by their side, they failed to pull it off like they should’ve.

Aamna Aqeel’s ‘After the Winter’ that followed was like a saving grace. This time around, Aamna ditched the studs for melodious symphonies of pastel hues, crystal stones, pearls and Swarovaskis embedded in her embroidery. One of the pieces that I loved was the peach knee length A-line dress with subtle crystal work which reflected uber sophistication. I also spotted a Dior inspired billowy skirt pieced with plain black shirt, which could’ve been paired with a vibrant choker to stand out. More than the collection itself, however, the bejeweled eyebrows done by Saba Ansari & co worked wonders on the runway.

Up next was Nida Azwer’s Arabesque which to be honest, was like a fresh breath of air. Nida Azwer brilliantly infuses traditional crafts of rilli, kantha, zardozi etc to conjure up classic and vintage designs with innovative cuts, silhouettes and tailoring. This year’s collection was dominated by bleached cotton nets and organza with accents of gold and silver. Every single piece from her collection was worth documenting. Her hemlines varied from long to short, including slim cut trousers and patyala shalwars.

The most awaited show of Act 2 started with splashes of digital sprints on filmsy cutting-edge western wear. Following the fame of Frida goes Khaddar, Deepak Perwani had a strong line to show this time around too. The capsule was predominately  black, white and gold hues, mix matched with digital prints of monuments.

Following Deepak, was high-street brand LEVIS, showcasing their commuter, Coolman and Icons collection. The show made itself memorable and distinctive by using props. They had a wide array of denim shorts, western shirts and jackets which redefined urban wear.

Zainab Chottani’s Aqua presented an innovative pret line which left me in awe. Zainab Chottani is known for her bridal wear, but her new venture in ready to wear seems promising. Zainab used solid base colors as a canvas to  embroidery crimson florals which looked hip and trendy. Zainab’s show was definitely the strongest one for Day 1 of FPW 06.

The finale of Day 1 was by Adnan Pardesy’s refreshing incorporation of Gota into contemporary silhouettes. .His collection composed of shirts, jackets, skirts and boleros, oomphed by glitzy gota.

Best of day 1: HSY, Nida Azwer & Zainab Chottani. 

Pictures by: M. Haris Usmani and Ahsan Qureshy