Sushmita nahin, Mathira! The only real celebrity at the Crescent show.
No one prints animals and figures as animals and figures do not appeal to the conservative masses that feel they are unIslamic. This style sacrifice (a pun, that we see in the monotony of lawn prints) is what happens when you commercialize fashion. And that’s exactly why lawn can never be fashion!
OVER TO CRESCENT: It was an arrow in the dark that Sushmita Sen would be making an appearance at the Crescent lawn launch but considering the fact that millions had been thrown her way, it wasn’t entirely unbelievable. I mean, we all know that Bollywood celebrities have come to private ‘functions’ in Pakistan and performed for much less.
Sush?
Corporate ventures, however, cost much more and obviously it was one thing to have her pose for the spring/summer campaign in Dubai (it did seem to be Dubai in the brochure) and another thing to have her drag her high heeled feet to Pakistan. And she didn’t.
The ‘Bollywood Surprise’ promised on the invite to the Crescent Fashion Show was more of a shock or a let-down and though no fault of managing team Catwalk, (publicity stunts are a norm all over the world) it left a bad taste in the mouth. No one likes to be punk’d!
Sushmita videos ran in the background as five look-alike models rotated in on the stage all dressed up like her. They even tried to mimic her dance steps and body movements. Once again a fashion show turned into more of an entertainment ploy, the focus coming away from fabric, clothes and style and on to dance, music and Bollywood. As a fashion journalist, I felt the entire purpose of the program had been defeated as absolutely no one was interested in the collection. That was the biggest let down of the evening.
Punk’d!
As the show came to an end, it was all eyes on Shah Rukh (who can look away from a big screen flaunting SRK dancing to the beats of a Bollywood hit song?) and no eyes on anything else. The media may have rose to the bait but the women certainly weren’t biting.
I don’t think Crescent sales have been overwhelming in Pakistan, as neither have any other lawn sales been. It’s a classic case of fatigue, saturation and going OTT on one thing.
And more than the fatigue, it also a case of repetition, monotony and well, repetition. The paisleys, panels, chiffon dupattas, satin borders and embroidered necklines have been thrown our way one time too many. There isn’t a single print on the plethora of billboards that screams for attention. Nothing like the charcoal architectural city-sketches Yahsir Waheed featured in his first lawn collection ten years ago, nothing like the inscriptions of bejewelled elephants, birds and dancing figurines that attract us to Indian prints so much.
Yes, animals and figures do not sell as the conservative masses feel they are unIslamic and this style sacrifice (that we see in lawn) is what happens when you commercialize fashion. And that’s exactly why lawn can never be fashion!
