FPWF19 Day Three begins and ends strong, with some excitement in between

A balmy Friday night closed the final day of the three-day long Fashion Pakistan Week Winter Festive’19 showcase. With a slew of established and well loved designers on the line up for the night, it was a full-house, with people waiting eagerly for the collections to roll out. One would think that the full-house may also be owing to the fact that fashion week finales are known to be star studded, and the audience was anticipating the arrival of celebrities, be it on the runway or the front rows. What value stars add to the catwalk or collection is yet to be decided.

Kicking off the final day was Zainab Chottani, who put a celebrity on the runway right off the bat. Faryal Mehmood opened the show, titled Khwahish, in a white and gold bridal jora that exuded a muted elegance.

 

 

A classic bridal collection, there were pieces that caught the eye and held one’s attention. Luxe velvet, embroidered endearingly with beautiful motifs placed intelligently, the visual aesthetics of the pieces spoke volumes about Zainab’s craft and her design sense. To make a bridal collection interesting enough to hold the audience’s attention is a task in itself and this collection held one’s attention at more than one instance with its transition from a white and gold palette to darker shades paired with the same gold, finally ending on a black and gold number worn by Mawra Hocane, who was accompanied by Fahad Mustafa, in one of Zainab’s menswear offerings.

 

 

Huma Adnan‘s Darwaish was an eclectic mix of zardozi, crystal and traditional thread embroidery, all woven together neatly in opulent ensembles, that weren’t too heavy duty yet not too simple either. The color palette was kept simple, yet boasted of a regal feel, which is always welcome on a bridal showcase. However, once again, a lot of the same silhouettes were seen, which is often the case with bridals. Huma’s clothes were accessorized with heavier pieces from handcrafted pieces from The Craft Stories, her UNHCR initiative of working with refugees.

 

 

Fresh off of his royal approval, designer Nauman Arfeen showcased a collection that put his attention to detail in the limelight. Titled Uraan, the collection stuck to tradition in a way that made one truly appreciate the craft that is so deeply woven into our culture. Clean cut sherwanis, and the quintessential shalwar and kurtas with a classy decency dominated his menswear collection, while the bridal ensembles were understated elegance. All in all, an extremely wearable collection; one can expect grooms flocking to Nauman to sort their big day out.

 

 

By now, it seemed as though day three had been kept exclusively as a bridal showcase, sticking to the festive part of winter festive. Saba Asad‘s Limitless was another purely bridal collection and so not much to write home about; with very little innovation, it just felt repetitive at this point. Sticking to a muted color palette with silver on pastels, the collection featured long, flowing silhouettes paired with straight pants or equally flowy shararas. The highlight of the show was Shaniera Akram walking out in sneakers, throwing her head back to flash a smile and blowing kisses to the crowd.

 

 

Shiza Hassan took a turn for a more opulent collection Talea, with her use of luxe fabric laden with heavy embroidery and embellishments. A classic bridal collection with some flattering silhouettes, the designer also stuck to metallic pastels and jewel tones in her color palette that only worked to enhance the over all feel and vibe of her collection, and again, the winning moment was Wasim Akram taking to the runway as her closing act, eliciting an applause from the audience. It seems as though many of the designer’s collections rested on their star power.

 

 

Perhaps, in what was the most awaited show of the night, Sadaf Fawad Khan (SFK Bridals) was a mix of hits and misses. Her collection titled Adam & Eve was curated in pairs, an outfit for her and one for him, complimenting each other to the T. It was a visually appealing showcase, however could’ve benefited from better fittings; at more than one instance, the models struggled to walk down the runway, wobbling their way to the end and one even had to get rid of her heels to continue her walk. Onscreen couple, Feroze Khan and Hania Amir closed the show for Sadaf.

 

 

The second to last showcase was possibly the weakest of the day. Ayesha Ibrahim’s Ishq-e-Raag had minimal innovation in silhouettes or even in terms of design elements, and some ensembles’ finishing was a bit messy for the runway. Maybe it isn’t the designers fault entirely because by this time, one felt an almost overload of bridals for one day, and then moving on from seeing better finished garments on the runway, this one faltered under the weight of the earlier collections, specially the grand closure of SFK Bridals.

 

 

The last and final show was reserved for the iconic Deepak Perwani, whose collection was inspired by the Shalimar Gardens and aptly titled Shalimar. Reflecting the grandeur of the Mughal courts with its silks and velvets, this was a perfect ode to a bygone era that is revered for its rich lavishness. Featuring rich shades of pink, the collection really lived up to its name and that says enough about Deepak and his deliverance.

The last day of FPWF19 was, in its essence, a typical FPW finale, with lots of star power and heavy duty collections, and with that, the fashion extravaganza comes to a close till the next season!

• All photographs are credited to Faisal Farooqui at Dragonfly