Fashion Pakistan Week Spring/Summer 2018 is all set to take place this week in Karachi, and menswear designer Amir Adnan has something special in mind; he’ll be showcasing a special segment with deaf models walking the runway.
As part of one of the two segments he’ll be showing at FPW, six models – who are part of the JS Academy for the Deaf – will walk the runway wearing the Dawn collection from the designer’s When in Karachi series. The segment will be headed by Amir’s head designer, who also is hearing-impaired.
“The purpose of the show is to create an awareness for the hearing impaired community,” Parishae Adnan, Amir Adnan’s daughter who is overlooking the brand, told Something Haute. “The aim isn’t to show people ‘look deaf people can model too,’ it’s actually to show, through the FPW platform, that it doesn’t matter if it’s modeling or anything else, deaf people can do anything they set their minds to.”
Sashaying down the runway, the models will also be using universal sign language to say ‘deaf can do anything,’ which is the official hashtag for the segment as well.
The purpose of the show is to create awareness about the deaf community and to symbolize that it does not matter if it is fashion or modeling or any other field, having a hearing impairment does not mean that one should not chase their dreams.
JS Academy for the Deaf is a project of the NOOR-E-ALI TRUST & CDGK supported by Mahvash & Jahangir Siddiqui Foundation, which is a non-profit organization. JS Academy’s main aim is to teach the deaf and hearing-impaired children to read, write and communicate in their own language.
Apart from the first segment, Amir’s main segment at FPW, The Beast will be showcasing a bespoke, environmentally conscious collection, which features one-of-a-kind pieces made from ‘upcycled’ vintage sherwanis. Upcycling is the process of reusing old materials to reduce clothing and textile waste in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original.
