Fakhra Rafique's Blog: The Pakistan Fashion Design Council [PFDC] & Sunsilk announce their fourth week of prêt à porter fashion scheduled for October 2011!

The Pakistan Fashion Design Council [PFDC] & Sunsilk announce their fourth week of prêt à porter fashion scheduled for October 2011!

[Lahore: 26 September 2011] The Pakistan Fashion Design Council and Sunsilk are pleased to announce the next PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week, S/S 2012, scheduled to take place in the metropolitan city of Karachi this October. Following three nationally and internationally acclaimed weeks of fashion, the executive committee of PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week reveal October 20^th – 23^rd 2011 as their 4 days of fashion, where over 24 designers are expected to showcase their spring/summer 2012 prêt a porter collections. Indeed as has come to be expected and renowned of the PFDC Sunsilk platform, fashion week this October will be highlighting leading industry labels and designers as well as introducing some of Pakistan’s most exciting new design talents, through debut shows at the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week. The team also announces the continuity of the afternoon textile shows this October first initiated in Mar/April 2011 in Lahore, where the PFDC Sunsilk team extend their platform to leading Pakistani textile companies to now showcase their winter collections.

PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week S/S 2012 will be staged at one main runway venue and will also include daily exhibitions of collections showcased, at the same venue. The PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week shows will be managed by the PFDC and its own members and the executive committee; produced by Frieha Altaf of Catwalk Productions with Event Coordination by the R Team, styled by Sabs, The Salon for Women and Khawar Riaz for Men with Designer Management and Buyer Sourcing Consultancy through The Little Black Book and Public Relations by Lotus.

Speaking about the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week platform, Chairperson of the Executive Committee of PFDC, Sehyr Saigol said: “As a council and as a platform we are proud to bring consistency and sustainability to fashion. With our fourth week of runway shows this October, our designer representation in Paris, our first ever bridal week in November, the opening of our brand new store in Lahore at Mall 1 and in Karachi later this year at Dolmen City Mall, we endeavour to constantly further our vision of institutionalising the business of fashion. It our belief that in order to grow towards the commercialisation of Pakistan’s fashion industry we must formalise the required processes which includes regular and seasonal showcases streamlining established brands and nurturing newer talents, providing retail avenues and forging public/private commercial partnerships.”

VP Marketing, Unilever Pakistan Amir Paracha said "It is heartening to note that the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week has grown immeasurably since we started out in February 2010. Fashion Week provides a unique platform for designers to showcase their ideas and flair to design experts the world over; and Sunsilk with its platform of Expert Co-Creations is proud to support Pakistan's Fashion Industry."

Indeed PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week S/S 2012 follows the success of the first time participation of seven designers Adnan Pardesy, HSY, Khaadi, Muse, Nickie Nina,The House of Kamiar Rokni & Zaheer Abbas, selected through their shows on the PFDC Sunsilk runway, at Prêt a Porter Feminin in Paris, September 2011. Buyers and media from a diversity of countries extended their interest and support to the Pakistani designers at Prêt a Porter Feminin, including those from Kuwait, Russia, Italy, Saudia Arabia, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, and Switzerland to as far as Angola. Indeed the PFDC believes that through this representation at the Parisian fair, Pakistan was able to showcase its design prowess in the international arena on a serious trade platform. The PFDC is also currently working on cultivating more such international opportunities alongside national partnerships, and look forward to announcing these between 2011 – 2012.

“Pakistan is seeking its style-stake in the global market”- Leading international Fashion Journalist Hilary Alexander as quoted in the News Instep

"For years now, I have been travelling to different parts of the world, attending fashion weeks. Some are great fun, like the Nigerian fashion week, which is very exotic. There are other fledgling fashion weeks, like the one in Turkey, that struggle to be fashionable but haven't yet managed to leave a mark. In contrast, I think the two PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Weeks have been conducted very professionally with great locations and, of course, some very promising designers." Alexandra Senes – French Consultant for the Council while speaking to The News – Instep

“The first Lahore Fashion Week showed the city at its liveliest, belying every Pakistani cliché. The clothes, the collections, the pounding music had a rhythm like no other” Leading Indian Fashion Journalist Hindol Sengupta while speaking to Dawn – Images

"There are many interesting ideas...Especially now that the textile industry in Europe is declining. Pakistan, with its traditional crafts and very low labour costs, has a great potential" Sonja Noel – Owner of Style Emporium Stijl in Brussels

“…four days of fashion and business- very high energy and very glamorous”, Daily Times

About the Pakistan Fashion Design Council & PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week:

· Dates Announced: 20^th – 23^rd October 2011

The PFDC was established in 2006 and endeavours to accord a corporate status to the fashion business, provide a platform for young and mainstream designers and to institutionalise the fashion industry in order to create and maintain industry standards in conformity with global market standards. Today, the PFDC includes over 56 members from across the country.

PFDC as a body is involved in the revival of the crafts sector in collaboration with Aik Hunar Aik Nagar [AHAN]; this being of significance since 90% of the embroideries of the South Asian subcontinent originates from Pakistan. The Council also offers two annual scholarships to aspiring PIFD students. Lastly, the PFDC continues to strive towards the standardisation of the Prêt-à-Porter industry and to this end, the PFDC has recently relocated to a bigger flagship multi brand outlet opening in October 2011 with 9500 square feet of space at Mall 1 on the Main Boulevard in Lahore where 39 designers will be stocking in addition to 3 shoe brands. The PFDC will also introduce their multi- label store in Karachi soon at the Dolmen City Mall.

With one of the world's biggest, best-known and well-loved hair care brands Sunsilk as long term patron, the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week platform was introduced in February 2010, in an endeavour to map Pakistan on international fashion week circuits. Thus October 2011 will be the fourth time there will be a complete synergy between three aspects of the business of fashion and retail: the designers, the crafts people and the textile industry who have worked together in a planned, cohesive and sustained manner to add value to previously simple products. Indeed Pakistan has an incredibly rich history of arts and crafts, which has provided the bedrock of our fledgling fashion industry. Through fashion weeks, the PFDC endeavours to show the world that despite the unstable socio-political situation the country finds itself in, Pakistanis are continuing to nurture and promote their creative heritage. To this end, the success of the first three seasons of PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week in 2010 - 11 was indeed unprecedented and can be quantified by the success of the facility provided to showcase designer collections, the presence and keen interest of local, regional and international fashion buyers and the reaction and support of the international and local media. The three concluded Fashion Weeks’ have not only helped the designers who showcased at the platform but have also provided other designers, who were not part of these weeks of fashion in both Lahore and Karachi, the opportunity to meet and network with personalities from the international world of fashion and media to better build their brands.

For Further Information on the PFDC please visit www.pfdc.org

For Further Information on Unilever and Sunsilk please visit http://www.unileverpakistan.com.pk/

“PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week can be termed as a platform to map Pakistan on the international fashion week circuits, synergising between three aspects of business, the designers, the crafts people (mainly women from areas of dispute and conflict) and the textile industry, in a planned, cohesive and sustained manner, to add value to simple products…” SHE

Here are few highlights of Last PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week

Dessigner: HSY

Dessigner: FNKAsia

Dessigner: Ammar Belal

Dessigner: Adnan Pardesy

Dessigner: Ali Xeeshan

Dessigner: Teejays

Dessigner: Zara Shahjahan

So ladies, fasten your seat belt for Mega Fashion Show. By the way who is your favourite Designer? what you like the most in his/her designing theme or dress?

Love you All

Fakhra