Pop-up makeover stalls, blow-dry bars and breakout fashion shows are not all that define Pakistan’s first-ever beauty expo. Ironically, in fact, this beauty event promises to go above and beyond the ideals and psychology of beauty itself.
An initiative of Catwalk Event Management and Productions, Beyond Beautiful (BB) is a three-day exhibition-cum-conference set to take place in Karachi at the end of this month, under the supervision of Catwalk CEO, Frieha Altaf. As the title of the event suggests, BB’s aim is not only to celebrate the local beauty and personal care industry but rather to recognize and reward the contributions of individuals who are revolutionizing ways in which beauty is perceived in society. Nonetheless, how this expo would achieve this was still up for discussion.
It was for this purpose that actors Aamina Sheikh and Adnan Malik, textile entrepreneurs Safinaz Muneer and Shamoon Sultan, dermatologist Dr Tasneem Nakhuda and journalist Aamna Isani took to Altaf’s home Friday evening. The meeting agenda was simple: establish a clear-cut mission statement for the upcoming event. Were they successful in doing so? Yes.
Shamoon Sultan, Aamna Isani, Frieha Altaf, Aamina Sheikh, Safinaz Muneer, Adnan Malik and Dr. Tasneem Nakhuda at Frieha’s residence to draft a way-forward for the upcoming Beyond Beautiful Expo.
Each attendee played an instrumental role in shortlisting panel discussion topics and award categories; they picked only the most timely and locally relevant ones and disregarded the more vague options. The brainstorming session lasted around two hours with a series of agreements and disagreements over some of the most pressing issues that plague the beauty industry as a whole. These included, but were not necessarily limited to, the role of masculinity in the 21stcentury, social media and the beauty ideals it is creating for millennials, and how much beauty is too much beauty.
But why must I attend, you may ask. Well, unlike most beauty events, BB doesn’t just seem to guarantee a trio of entertaining nights but also educational ones. There, you won’t be expected to check your politics at the door; instead you will be required to dress up your thoughts and powder your principles because beauty is beyond beautiful.
So, who’s going?
