The only thing on my mind right now is that I lost my notebook last night. But thankfully I had documented the first day, remembered most of the second and the third is yet to be experienced tonight. This is me shaking the loss out of my head. #$%^&*#@
Okay…so Day 2 was infinitely better than Day 1. A bit more settled and more easily transitioning between good and bad collections. There were bad collections…oh yes, hell there were some evil clothes, but the taste we took away at the end was all good.
Shehla Chatoor: Shehla has been designing for many years and has a niche clientele in Karachi. She has never shown before (and doesn’t stock anywhere either) but after seeing her collection, one wonders why. The first lineup – of gloriously luxurious silk dresses – were delicious. Cavalli-esque in mood, they played around with animal prints and thick flexible gold chains that reminded one of mating snakes. Brave and sexy. The buzz after the show was that some buyer had bought out the entire range. Imp note: while her trousseau collection appeared out of place, it is important to flash bridals (to some extent) locally.
Nida Azwer: Her colours were white, black and gold and her references were to ancient civilizations. Good collection; much better than what was shown in Lahore. And lovely white silk scarf in giveaway bag…thanks Nida!
Nauman: I lost my notebook so forget his full name but this designer was reminiscent of Ismail Farid’s last collection but without the finesse. Maybe he’ll get there. Maybe he won’t.
Group show: Interesting finale outfit that came up in full circle. No notebook and I am bad with names. Sorry.
Student collections: Innovation in hits and misses
Aeisha Varsey: Introduced as a working woman’s wardrobe, after seeing one mini-skirt and cleavage spilling blouse after the other, I wondered what kind of working girl AV is referring to. Not even the types on the streets would wear these kind of outfits. The blond wigs suggested that ‘blonds have more fun’ but exactly how much fun is Aeisha looking for. A concept gone wrong, it was nevertheless experimental of the designer to break away from her regular brand of bridals.
Kuki: Missed his showing as I was too late to return from the interval and had to slip in from backstage after his show. BUT, saw the deer heads backstage and thought they were visually interesting and offensive at the same time. Whatever happened to animal rights? First a mangy cat on the runway and now this. Surely Kuki cannot claim that no animals were harmed in the making of this collection. PETA would sue him if this happened anywhere else.
Abdul Samad: Innovative handling of ajrak prints. Loved the applique worked jacket pockets. Less burlesque than his last collection and much better in terms of wearability but could be toned down further.
Sanam Chaudhry: No longer whimsical, this collection made all the right style sounds. Barring the high heads, the clothes in Sanam’s second collection for FPW bore reflections of what Khaadi does. Hopefully one will be able to see and buy this (at least) where Sanam stocks ie Labels.
Shamaeel: What a brilliant, brilliant collection and what magnificent jewelry. Having quite the fetish for artwork in silver, I personally wanted to pick up every single piece. But wait…there was more to it. The clothes were an example of how to do sepia the right way without making it look boring and dull. Intricate and indigenous craft was incorporated on silk, exclusively printed with miniatures. The work of a genius, nothing less.
STYLE ICON OF THE EVENING: Hard to say as creative style has been hard to find at this season of fashion week but I’d have to say that Zurain Imam and Rizwanullah, two of my fashionable friends, wore some interesting pieces. Zurain with his Mona Lisa waistcoat and Riz’s patchwork tail that appeared to have come undone of his clothes. “Rizwan, your Freudian slip is showing,†Tapu rightfully said.
Bottom line: Underwear alert on the catwalk!
VIP Lounge: Menu jacked up to sandwiches, mini pizzas, patties and dahi phulkis…quite the perfect Iftaar spread. Can’t complain though, I got my icy cold coke on the rocks. If you’re wondering about my fixation about what’s on the menu, sorry, it’s food after fashion. I know they don’t go hand in hand but I was never about conforming to stereotypes.
Quote of the day: Malay designer Eric Choong and I commenting on a woman wearing a bright green suit, spotted with red flowers, replete with blond hair: “Oh look, there’s a Christmas tree on the red carpet!”
No one said fashion was about being nice. Till tomorrow, God give us strength to bear with cribbing families while we work/slave our evenings away…
