LSA Fashion Nominations for 2012

The Lux Style Awards nominations for 2012 were released last evening and here’s the list.  The award ceremony itself, a little bird tells me, will be held smack in the middle of the summer break and that too in Lahore. I won’t be around but wish my very best to the nominees as well as everyone else who will be traveling to Lahore for the event, given the power failures. Haute or hot, the LSAs surely will be very hip and happening as always!

Model of the Year (Female)     

Amna Ilyas

Ayyan

Cybil Chowdhry

Mehreen Syed

Rabia Butt

My verdict: I think Cybil should win this category hands down. She looks stunning on the catwalk and holds her grace in print just as effectively. My runners up would be Amna Ilyas followed by Rabia Butt.

Model of the Year (Male)                          

Abbas Jafri

Ather Amin

Jahan-e-Khalid

Shehzad Noor

Waleed Khalid

My verdict: By now I am a little bored with Abbas Jafri’s look but then he is one of the few male models I can put a name to (the other is Waleed Khalid). Yes, I was on the jury and I did help nominate some of these guys but there were portfolios to refer to and visuals have slipped out of my mind now. May the best man win.

Best Fashion Photographer

Azeem Sani

Fayyaz Ahmed

Guddu Shani

Maha Burney & Nadir Feroz Khan at NFK

Rizwan ul Haq

My verdict: I think for the sheer volume of quality work they do, Guddu and Shani should bag it this time. Having said that, I wouldn’t mind at all if either Rizwan ul Haq or Fayyaz Ahmed won. Nadir Feroz Khan, of course, is great at what he does but I’d give him another year to consolidate his portfolio. Ditto for Azeem Sani, whom I have never met but I remember he had a really impressive, diverse portfolio.

Best Hair and Make-up Artist                             

Creative Team at Nabila

Creative Team at Tariq Amin

Juju Haider & Shammal Quraishi at Toni&Guy, Lahore

Maram Azmat & Abroo Hashmi

Raana Khan

My verdict: The one image that dominates hair and makeup in 2012, for me, is the one above: L’Oreal’s Somptueux show. So I would hand it to the Creative Team at Nabila. My runner up would be a toss between Tariq Amin’s team and Juju/Shammal at Toni&Guy because while Tariq is the pro Juju and Shammal have proven their mettle in just as short a time.

Achievement in Fashion Design – Luxury Pret           

Shehla Chatoor

Iman Ahmed at Body Focus

Khadija Shah at Elan

Maheen Karim

Sania Maskatiya

My verdict: This is a tough one simply because all nominees are so incredibly strong. And all of them showed great collections at fashion weeks last year while promoting themselves in print just as effectively. But if I had to choose a winner, I’d choose Shehla Chatoor for her consistency in quality and impressive showmanship. She designs nothing but luxury pret, has an equally strong understanding of both western and eastern luxury and she was the designer to wear last year. In fact she still is.

Achievement in Fashion Design – Pret

Feeha Jamshed

Iman Ahmed at Body Focus

Sanam Chaudhry

Sania Maskatiya

Wardha Saleem

My verdict: Another tough one. Each and every name is a personal favourite. But to be fair, no one  dominated the pret scene as much (and as powerfully) as Sania Maskatiya. She’s a cinch to win as her popularity rippled across the country, throughout the year.

Best Menswear Designer           

Ahmed Bham

Amir Adnan

Ammar Belal

Ismail Farid

Republic by Omar Farooq

My verdict: There’s no denying the perfection in Ahmed Bham and Ismail Farid’s menswear or Amir Adnan’s sherwanis but then one doesn’t see enough of them on fashion platforms. Ammar Belal’s fashion dominance is just the opposite: that ABCD show is unforgettable but then the runway to retail transfusion isn’t quite so prolific. That leaves us with Republic by Omar Farooq as the natural winner.

Achievement in Fashion Design – Lawn

Khaadi by Khaadi

Mahnoush by Arjumand Amin

Orient by Deepak Perwani

Sana Safinaz by Sana Hashwani & Safinaz Muneer

Kamal Lawn by Elan

My verdict: I’d go with Sana Safinaz, hands down. All the nominees had great prints in great quality but no one has been able to influence trends in lawn as Sana Safinaz have.

Best Emerging Talent

Misha Lakhani (Women’s wear designer)

Abdullah Haris (Photography)

Natasha’s Salon (Hair & Make Up Artist)

Saima Azhar (Modeling)

Sana Sarfaraz (Modeling)

My verdict: The single most prominent figure in this list is Misha Lakhani, who should win. She made an extremely professional debut by showing pret and bridal, opened a ready to wear store in a commercial area and gathered  clout by acquiring the right kind of visibility. My runner up would be Abdullah Harris, for doing some brilliant work. Natasha truly has ’emerged’ in 2012 but she has done more bridal/portraits than fashion. Sam Azhar has a beautiful face but lacks poise on the runway. Sana Sarfraz, I’m afraid, just appears too plastic.

Best High Street Brand

Adnan Pardesy for the Working Woman

Daaman

Gulabo

Khaadi

Rang Ja

My verdict: Gulabo, for the style, the stores, the retail experience and the shows. Adnan came in too late in the year, Khaadi saw a dip in trends (too much repetition), Rang Ja was good but limited and Daaman could easily win if they added some sizzle to their brand. A fashion show, conceptual work etc…Facebook marketing isn’t enough even if your brand is super slick, which Daaman surely is.

Note: The nominees are selected after a panel of jurors (fashion journalists and editors from Lahore and Karachi) reviews all the work done in 2012 under the given categories. Each individual on the jury selects and marks their top five preferences. These results are then compiled and 5 names with the highest marks make it to the nominees list. That’s the first tier, after which a second tier of voters (in Lahore and Karachi) will vote for one winning candidate each. Even we, the first tier jury, do not know who’ll end up being nominated, let alone win!

All photos by Faisal Farooqui@Dragonfly unless specified otherwise.