Imagine if Willy Wonka and Karl Lagarfeld met each other and decided to create a museum exhibiting their passion, chocolate and fashion, what would they come up with? There would be walls flowing with chocolate and an art installation paying tribute to rich Belgium chocolate. A gold chandelier would gently twirl from the ceiling and the entire room would be splashed with ornate gold furnishings. An international DJ would be flown in, who’d play the latest Calvin Harris chart toppers and the Crème de la crème of the fashion fraternity would let their hair down to get ready for one heck of a party.
That’s sort of what happened this weekend at the Magnum Party. Rich Belgium chocolate was made into the perfect accessory to fashion with help from five fabulous designers: Shehla Chatoor, Maheen Karim, Omar Farooq for Republic, Khadija Shah for Elan and Nomi Ansari. All designers decided to take their favourite aspect of the rich chocolatey goodness and put it on for all to see on the runway. Ali Xeeshan and Fahad Hussayn added further drama to the already star-studded affair with their art installations that brought fashion and chocolate together.
Fashion installation by Fahad Hussayn
Ali Xeeshan’s installation glistens in the dark
The evening started relatively late, but the fashion show wrapped up within an hour. Opening the show was Shehla Chatoor, with Maheen Karim, Omar Farooq, Khadija Shah and Nomi Ansari following with their collections.
Shehla Chatoor’s ode to chocolate shows her love for the rich Belgiun goodness! From the embroidered chocolate sticks to the crystal studded clutch shaped like a Magnum, Shehla showed that she’s a Magnum girl through and through!
Maheen Karim’s decadent collection embodied the core values of Magnum: Luxury, Pleasure and Indulgence. Kiran Aman’s jewelry added another dimension to the already luxurious golds and rich chocolate browns which Maheen used to create her interpretation of Magnum chocolate.
Omar Farooq for Republic: Perhaps the most understated collection of the evening, Omar brought some laid back charm to the runway. While shades of brown aren’t a popular choice for a chic men’s outfit, Omar’s collection made brown ‘cool’
Khadija Shah for Elan: there was nutty goodness mixed with amazing construction. Khadija Shah’s capsule of Magnum gowns was a haute favourite amongst most people that night and you can see why!
Our favourite collection of the evening: Nomi Ansari stole our hearts. It was a perfect amalgamation of staying true to fashion AND Magnum simultaneously. His gorgeous gowns played with layers and swirls of chocolate all splashed together for the perfect indulgence. Being the only one who played with colours other than brown, Nomi brought more elements of chocolate on the runway, such as colourful sprinkles and chocolate swirls.
Compared to the show and showcases, the red or rather brown carpet was like its name suggested: murky. There were hardly any memorable style statements made that night. Among some of the notable celebs seen at the party were Zeba Bakhtiyar, Sarwat Gillani, Mehwish Hayat, Sohai Aabro, HSY, Nadia Hussain, Mohsin Ali, Amir Adnan, and Huma Amir Shah and here are some of our favourite looks:
Zeba Bakhtiyar strikes a pose on the ‘chocolate’ carpet
Magnum Brand Manager, Azka Waqar wearing and with the ever-fashionable Shehla Chatoor.
Khadija Shah kept things simple for Magnum; she’ll be pulling out the stops at the upcoming fashion week in Lahore!
– By Manal Faheen Khan, Assistant Editor Something Haute
