Muniba Kamal with the young and talented Wardha Saleem, who has brought her vibrant FPW3 collection to store. Fun, funky fashion for the fearless females out there!
Sania Maskatiya
Five labels either launched or upgraded their collections at The Designers yesterday, out of which Wardha Saleem (above) was the first I noticed.
Sania Maskatiya branched out to The Designers too, which makes her a label available at all three major multi label boutiques in Karachi: Labels, Ensemble, Ensemble One and now The Designers as well as her own flagship store. That’s what I call spreading the wings and I guess it’s no coincidence that birds have become trademark in most of Maskatiya’s prints.
On racks was the very artistic Matyala collection, that debuted at Showcase 2012 and for art lovers it is a must-buy. I already own a piece, in case you’re wondering!
Yahsir Waheed
Andy couldn’t resist this ‘steal’!
To see Yahsir Waheed’s very first offering of ready-to-wear, that came more than two years after his first fashion week appearance, was truly monumental. Yahsir, who I do consider a pioneer of ‘designer lawn’, had been promising a R2W collection for ages and he finally delivered!
Shown last year as spring/summer 2012, this interplay of ajrak prints was as smooth as butter and as light as meringue. Fabric to die for, simple prints to carry you through the day and detailing that qualifies so effortlessly as fashionable. At the price this collection is marked at, it is a steal. Andleeb bought this kurta for Rs 3500 ONLY!
(L-R) Umair, Rukaiya, Farhan and Andleeb: This is how the smoke break turned into an endless gossip session!
Marvi models one of newbie Nida Ali’s designs
While someone as young as Mohsin Ali has traveled the passage of rites (via fashion school and weeks) to ‘arrive’ in the industry with huge potential, other designers – who have been around longer and yet remain unknown – will have to learn the hard way and work harder to acquire any cred, if at all.
Also launching new collections at The Designers were Nida Ali (left) and Umsha, who got a bit swamped by the popularity of the three well known designers. But then recognition is what fashion weeks deliver: not only do they fine tune collections but they also train ‘designers’ to strike the balance between creative and commercial. Above all, the critique, the feedback and the collective outcome of fashion weeks is what sets designers apart from others and while Nida and Umsha were tweaking their potential here and there, it has to be seen which way they swing: creative or commercial.
And can you believe I don’t have a single picture of Asad Tareen, who not only put this together but is changing the game for designers as he steps up as Pakistan’s first true ‘fashion buyer’ as opposed to a stockist. Moreover, Asad has just struck a great partnership with Mohsin Ali, who will be outsourcing his designs to production by Asad. Production capacity is one of the biggest hurdles on any young designers success and Asad just made that easier by offering production services! Mohsin’s first pret a porter collection with The Designers will be available all over Pakistan as well as at the upcoming Designers flagship store in Dubai. That’s something we are all looking forward to!
