KARACHI:
Fashion Pakistan Week came to an end with
12 designers and a high-street brand showcasing their Autumn/Winter 2012
collections on Tuesday evening.
While
Maheen Karim, Rizwanullah, Emraan Rajput, Delphi, FnkAsia and Misha
Lakhani presented their fall looks for this year with complete
collections, Karachi’s six — designers Shamaeel, Amir Adnan, Sadaf
Malaterre, Maheen Khan, Deepak Perwani and Shehla Chatoor — showed a
few pieces each for the finale. After a fantastic display of cuts,
colour and creativity on Day 2, the final day had more misses than hits
in terms of mind-blowing creations. Most designers stayed true to their
labels and didn’t venture too far out of their comfort zone.
Delphi
Nida
Tapal’s collection for Delphi stood out for re-inventing crochet and
playing up the sexy material to look ethereal. Tapal used crochet in
various forms, from little black dresses and ponchos to halter cut gowns
and saris. There was even a beautiful ivory and gold ankle-length shirt
with a plunging neckline, modeled by Maha, that shimmered under the
lights. Another gorgeous piece, modeled by Fauzia, was an ivory outfit
with a glittery sequined bodice and straight A-line shirt in crochet.
The silhouettes were refreshingly narrow, and the dresses had an
international appeal with their edgy cuts and soft colours. Tapal kept
her colour palette limited to soft pinks, ivory, black and grayish
silver, and chose to let the sequins and delicate crochet do all the
talking. A grey crochet cape with silver sequins looked stunning over a
simple silk inner shirt and chooridar. Tapal successfully re-did a dying
craft and beautifully announced that crochet is not passé, but here to
stay!
Emraan Rajput
Emraan
Rajput transported the audience to the ‘70s retro style with candy
coloured jackets with pants and shirts in matching hues. Rajput toyed
with vibrant hues from yellows and oranges to blues, and introduced
pleats on his jackets. Apart from experimenting with colours, Rajput
presented red hot pants with a matching shirt and white jacket that was
modeled by Mehreen Syed. His collection brought a burst of colour to the
ramp, and was a safe choice without much diversity in fabric or
texture.
FNK Asia
Huma
Adnan’s collection ‘Out of Africa’ was a treat. In earthy tones, Huma
presented her line with a bang in earthy tones played up with colourful
fringes, and beads. There were dresses, shalwars, shirts and lovely
bandanas in burnt orange and red that gave a truly African feel to her
coherent collection for FPW. Standouts included a deep red dress in
jersey material which was fitted till the waist and flowed out creating a
fun swish of volume till the calf. The bags and belts in shades of
yellow and orange with an adornment of beads were also fun and went well
with the collection. Overall, ‘Out of Africa’ was a pleasant surprise
from FnkAsia, which has given us something to remember and broken away
from the mundane work of the past.
Maheem Karim
Maheen
Karim’s ‘Luxe’ collection played with fabric and texture without
diverging too far from a colour palette of gold, black and red. Sana
Sarfraz opened the show in a military style chiffon jacket which had
beautiful gold kaam appliquéd on the shoulders and front. Maheen
skillfully used textured gold fabric on cowel necklines of straight
knee-length dresses that had neatly embroidered flowers in pastel shades
across the front. The same gold and black textured fabric was used as a
toga like one shoulder dress draped to create volume at the side and
front. Rabya Chaudhry modeled a structured pants and shirt suit in
Shanghai silk with beautifully embroidered jacket lapels. A deep green
jumpsuit with work on the front panel of the bodice looked well-stitched
and elegant (a similar one was worn by Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy in orange
at the Gucci Awards in Venice this year).
Misha Lakhani
After
wowing the crowds at PFDC L’Oreal Paris Bridal Week with her old
India-inspired collection in Lahore, the young fashion designer
presented her Autumn/Winter ready to wear collection for FPW. Her
display echoed the signature Misha Lakhani aesthetic; delicate,
well-stitched and simple outfits in blacks, silvers, rusts and ivories
that focus more on a sophisticated and neat silhouette than avant-garde
designs. Lakhani seems to have a taste for minimal frills and
embellishments, and chooses instead to introduce soft layers in solid
colours in satin and silk. Her digital prints in navy blue and ivory
were used as pleated skirts in dresses and as panels in a structured
kurta. Standouts were her floor skimming dresses that were belted at the
waist and soft, loose rust coloured pajamas in a lovely satin. Cybil
modeled a beautiful black and white satin dress with a straight
silhouette that had a gorgeous net back with black beadwork.
Rizwanullah
One
usually expects Rizwanullah to present an over-the-top, unwearable but
creative and outlandish collection. He is a designer who is not afraid
to experiment with any material, and has in the past presented a
collection made from henna on bed sheet fabric. Having said this,
Rizwan’s collection for Day 3 was very sober and quite unlike his
eccentric style mantra. He brought forward an entire collection in black
chiffons, silk and cotton with a basic digital print that was used in
different ways. A black playsuit modeled by Rabya Butt had the digital
print on the front panel; Fauzia modeled a poncho which bore the same
print on black and Neha wore a sheer net top with the print used on the
cuff of the sleeves. Apart from the print, Rizwan played with rillie and
mirror work on some volumised outfits as well. Unfortunately, his
collection lacked the usual craziness and magic his name is associated
with. As someone said during the announcements, it does seem like the
bad boy of the fashion industry has finally grown up!
The Karachi Six
In the finale, six of Karachi’s most prominent designers presented their pieces on the ramp:
Maheen Khan
Fashion
doyenne Maheen Khan stayed true to her signature style of understated
elegance. She used beige with bright reds and pinks to create layers and
ruffles at the front, presenting well-stitched and structured outfits. A
lace cape modeled by Nadia Ali over a champagne coloured tunic and
textured gold pants was simple, yet elegant.
Sadaf Malaterre
Malaterre
opted for light colours on soft fabrics, with which she re-lived some
kamdani moments in her collection. A beige halter cut dress with layers
at the front and a sexy sequined sari blouse with a beige sari were
standouts.
Amir Adnan
Amir Adnan stayed true to his
signature style with sherwanis in gold, black and red with a touch of
bridal embroidery. His collection seemed a bit out of place in a ready
to wear fashion week, but one supposes that he presented what he is best
at.
Deepak Parwani
Deepak showcased some smartly stitched jackets and sherwanis in black with a hint of black embellishments.
Shamaeel Ansari
Shamaeel
stayed true to her gold, rust and red colour palette and worked it
beautifully in elaborate loose jackets and coats with voluminous trails.
Shamaeel is a master at cuts and structure, and an oufit, modeled by
Ayyan, with a gold sequined front and a beautiful back in Kashmiri
embroidery-inspired digitally printed crepe silk was breathtaking.
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