LSA2020 nominations Part 1 – let’s take a look at the fashion nominees

Better late than never, which is why nominations for the 19th annual Lux Style Awards, for 28 categories across Fashion, Film, Music and Television, come as a very welcome ray of light in an otherwise dark and depressing year.

Will there be an event to honour the nominees and winners? It doesn’t seem likely.

Earlier this year, the LUX Style Awards team had announced a postponement of the annual event and pledged to support those in the entertainment and fashion industry impacted the most by the on-going pandemic. LSA redirected show funds and partnered with the Akhuwat Foundation to support the impacted members of these industries.

Asima Haq,  Director, Beauty and Personal Care at Unilever Pakistan said in a press release announcing the nominations: “Conceived 20 years ago as a platform focused on celebrating and promoting the entertainment and fashion industries of the country, the LUX Style Awards are considered the epitome of glamour in Pakistan. Earlier this year, we took a call to redirect funds to support those who have worked tirelessly to make LSA the legacy that it is today. Through this decision, we were able to support some of the groups in the entertainment industry that were worst impacted by the pandemic. However, keeping up with the LSA vision of honoring and recognizing exceptional work in the fields of fashion, music, television and drama, we will be awarding the coveted LSA trophies to the winners this year.”

This could mean that the trophies will be sent to winners individually, their acceptance speeches being pre recorded. Or it could be a small, limited audience evening, as we have witnessed before. One hopes it’s the latter.

Until we get details on the award distribution, let’s take a look at the nominations, starting with Fashion in Part 1 of the story…

 FASHION

 

Model of the Year (Female)

1. Alicia Khan
2. Fahmeen Ansari
3. Farwa Kazmi
4. Mushk Kaleem
5. Zara Abid (posthumous)

 

It breaks our hearts to read Zara Abid’s name in this list. We lost Zara to the PIA air crash in May and since then have been mourning the loss. It would be more than welcome for Zara to be awarded posthumously. Otherwise, the award quite clearly belongs to Mushk Kaleem, standout model of 2019.

 

Model of the Year (Male)

1. Aimal Khan
2. Champ Imi
3. Hasnain Lehri
4. Shahzad Noor
5. Waleed Siddiqui

 

We really want Aimal Khan to finally win this year. But the competition is tough between Aimal, Champ Imi (standing out in 2019) and Hasnain Lehri. We find Shahzad Noor really humdrum and Waleed Siddiqui, with his first nomination in this category, is too new.

 

Achievement in Fashion Design – Pret

1. BeechTree
2. Generation
3. Miraka by Misha Lakhani
4. Sania Maskatiya
5. Zaha by Elan

An important category, with strong names in the list. The winner needs to have consistently released ready to wear round the year, be available in stores and/or online and retail within a certain price point. Creatively, the winner should have a distinct signature and a fashion forward element in clothes as well as campaigns. To have shown at a fashion week is of course an added advantage. Who’ll win? Your guess is as good as ours.

 

Achievement in Fashion Design – Luxury Pret

1. Ali Xeeshan
2. Husain Rehar
3. Misha Lakhani
4. Sana Safinaz
5. Sania Maskatiya

 

 

This is another important category, perhaps the most important one in fashion. And we have some pretty strong names, each one having distinct signature and substantial retail presence. Sania Maskatiya, however, gave us a stellar collection in her NYFW outing, which was then also shown at fashion week in Karachi. That is the most memorable Luxury Pret collection of the year 2019.

 

Best Menswear Designer

1. Emran Rajput
2. Ismail Farid
3. Munib Nawaz
4. Republic by Omer Farooq
5. Sania Maskatiya

 

 

This is a tough category because it’s difficult to design menswear that is fashion forward and yet not costume or queer wear. There’s also too much dependency on celebrity models in campaigns, which frankly speaking is no longer novelty. It’s also difficult to avoid the path to traditional opulence, embellished sherwanis, turbans and all, which is rarely fashionable. We feel that ticking all the right boxes, Republic by Omer Farooq rises as the strongest contender.

 

Achievement in Fashion Design – Bridal

1. Ali Xeeshan
2. Faraz Manan
3. House of Kamiar Rokni
4. Sana Safinaz
5. Shehla Chatoor

 

 

Again, 5 very strong names, each one showing to a lot of applause. While Ali Xeeshan, Sana Safinaz, Kamiar Rokni and Faraz Manan have all had their grand moments, we would like to see Shehla Chatoor get her well deserved glory for that stunning solo show in Karachi.

 

Best Fashion Photographer

1. Alee Hassan
2. Ashna Khan
3. MHM Studio
4. Rizwan ul Haq
5. Shahbaz Shazi

 

 

Do we award photographers that depend on light and shade and technical angles in their signature shots or those that experiment with crazy shoots, art direction and a lot of photoshopping. Diversity of portfolio counts. It’s a toss between Rizwan ul Haq and Shahbaz Shazi, we feel.

 

Best Hair & Makeup Artist

1. Fatima Nasir
2. Qasim Liaqat
3. Saima Bargfrede
4. Shammal Qureshi at Toni & Guy (North Pakistan)
5. Sunil Nawab

 

 

It’s anyone’s game, but with that outstanding show, marking 10 years of Toni & Guy in Lahore, we hope Shammal Qureshi picks this one up.

 

Best Emerging Talent

1. Asad Bin Javed for Photography
2. Maha Tahirani for Female Model
3. Natasha Zubair for Photography
4. Sachal Afzal for Male Model
5. Zara Ali for Photography

 

 

This is a strange category as it combines an odd mix of people, but amongst this list, Maha Tahiriani is definitely the most prominent name to have emerged in 2019.

 

• Watch this space for Part 2 of the story. Film, TV and Music coming up…