PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week April 2012 : Day 2 Journal

PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week April 2012 : Day 2 Journal

[April 15 2012] The Pakistan Fashion Design Council in collaboration with Sunsilk presented the second day of the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week which included both early evening Voile Shows and later in the evening, shows by design houses attended by buyers, retailers, foreign and national media alike.

At the venue, Sunsilk presented an exclusive booth for fashion styling, where complimentary hair styling and makeup touch ups with Nabila's salon team was available and will continue to be available for the remaining days of PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week. Sunsilk also had present  a photo studio where fashion week goers to have their pictures taken on the Lux Red Carpet for instant, framed photographs as souvenirs.

Voile Shows

The voile shows were opened by Karma Fabric by Al-Zohaib Textile with their spring/summer 2012 collection entitled ‘Gypsy Summer’. The collection drew inspiration from the mix and match of different design classics and Karma signature motifs.  Catering to a broad spectrum of women, Karma Fabric presented an array of romantic, ethereal, bold, contemporary and trendy prints to the ramp along with a plethora of luxe add-ons with the Karma signature.

Karma Fabric has been created for the Karma Woman of today who not only defines fashion but embodies the spirit of luxe staple essentials every day. Fashioned by the highly successful and internationally acclaimed design team at Karma led by Design Director Maheen Kardar Ali, Karma Fabric was first launched this spring with its debut collection, Gypsy Summer. Established in 2000, this will be the conglomerate fashion house’s fourth label in addition to Karma Red, Karma Pink and Karma Princess. With a loyal and devoted client base of thousands of women all over the country, the label takes its inspirations from the different facets of the Karma Woman’s jetset life and divaesque personality, what’s hot this summer and defines this season’s must haves in their coveted closets.

The next show was by Sitara Textile which showcased its six luxurious womenswear lawn collections. Sitara Swiss Heartbeat, Sitara Mughal-e-Azam, Sitara Cotton Queen, Sitara Supreme Lawn, Sitara Sapna Lawn and Sitara Swiss Collection Brosha were presented in an extensive range of colours. Their collections offered an array of fashion and functional fabrics for shirt and dress material such as voile, cambric, linen and poplins. Sitara’s special expertise in design and print included  floral prints, geometric prints, striking checks and stripes, oriental paisley prints, ethnic animal prints and tie and dye prints. Sitara Textile also brought forth a wide range of menswear brands for this summer including: Sitara Legend Suiting, Sitara Mughal-e-Azam latha, Sitara Swiss Gold and Sitara Universal Latha.

Sitara Textile is a leading name in the textile circuit of Pakistan and is one of the country’s leading exporters. The company specializes in producing high-class fabric products made of superior quality materials. Their state-of-the-art production facilities in made-ups and fabrics are designed to meet diverse consumer needs. The company believes in originality as character and quality as foundation. The entrepreneurial spirit of the company assiduously seeks constant development, steady progress and outstanding performance.

The third voile show of the evening was by Nimsay with their spring/summer collection. Their inspiration was drawn from old traditional designs, geometrics and florals taken from nature. The collection balanced between the bohemian vision and the traditional school of thought and revolved around a large spectrum of colours promising a vibrant summer.

Nimsay Textiles are premium manufacturers and exporters of fabric in Pakistan. The company manufactures fabric and made-ups in 100 % cotton, poly cotton, twill, drill, dobby, jacquard and satin weaves both in printed and plain dyed forms. Nimsay’s quality assurance department monitors the quality parameters throughout the yarn procurement, weaving, processing, stitching and packing process. Their state of the art and modern quality control laboratory encompasses the latest computerized testing equipment for all in-house testing facilities. Nimsay International (Pvt) Ltd has been certificated for consistent quality making its products by International Standards & Human ecological such as Oeko -Tex, ISO – 9001, SA – 8000 & BRC.

The finale of voile show was by Lala Textiles with their Summer 2012 collection.  The summery collection showcased was based in tropical hues including sunshine yellow, ocean blues, pinks and classic black & white pieces. With a young and flirty silhouette, Lala's collection included long summer dresses, printed crushed pants & kurtas - perfect for the hot summer of the sub-continent.

Indeed it was with the inception of the quintessential Lala retail label in 1972 that the trading house first started consumer retail. Today, with over 39 years of seasoned experience, the Lala brand continues to provide quality material through custom prints throughout the year. The participation of the textile brand at the week highlights it commitment to provide consumers not only the right fabric but in keeping with the latest trends this season. Indeed, having started as a simple trading house in 1947, the Lala Textile brand has today grown to encompass seven diverse retail brands providing accessible summer; midsummer and winter fabric ranges to ladies across Pakistan; these include Vintage, Sana & Samia, La Femme, Kesa, Brocade, Khaddi & Lala Classic. Today, with over 39 years of seasoned experience, the Lala brand continues to provide quality material through custom prints throughout the year.

The Voile Shows were followed by the Lux Red Carpet leading to Act 1 of Day 2 of the designer shows.

Designer Showcases

Act 1

Akif

Act 1 was opened by Akif with his Spring/Summer 2012 womenswear collection entitled ‘Glamazon’, inspired by the glamorous woman of today. The collection was based in rich, luxurious fabrics, woven and crafted with gold threads translating into bold motifs and patterns such as brocades and jamawars with jacquard weaves. With Glamazon, the combination of bold embroideries on colorful fine cotton with western cuts endeavoured to give the collection a luxe summery look.

Akif Mahmood graduated in Fashion Design from the Pakistan Institute of Fashion Design   (PIFD) in July 2010 and received the Best Collection Award for his work at the institute’s graduation shows. He then showcased his debut collection at PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week in November 2010 to critical acclaim, under his own label, ‘Akif’. His signature style is reflected in his use of colours and elements from local Pakistani culture combined with contemporary cuts to create modern yet traditional designs. Akif has also worked with fashion powerhouse 'Libas' till February 2011, retailing under the name of ‘Akif for Libas’ at PFDC Mall One, Lahore. During this period, he was invited as one of seven designers to participate in Ittehad's summer show. Akif showcased for the fourth time at the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week platform.

Noman Arfeen

Following Akif’s show was Noman Arfeen with his menswear collection entitled “Rags to Riches”. The inspiration behind this collection was to put forward a collection worked in left over warehouse materials and turned into high fashion. To this end a wide array of unique materials such as fibre strands, steel wires and curtains were used with leather. Sharp and modern cuts were the designers’ emphasis with the collection accentuated further through embellishments and rich embroideries. Noman's collection was accessorised by fetish headgear made by the designer himself.

Noman’s interest for fashion began by learning the art of wrapping the perfect turban at   the age of 17. Soon, he began designing sherwanis to compliment his intricate turbans and thereon founded his groom’s wear label, Naushemian. The designer presented his first high fashion collection titled ‘Raven’ in Karachi in 2010 to much acclaim. In 2011, Noman took his to London with a collection titled ‘Love Gone Wrong’ at the Pakistan Fashion Week UK platform. He was further nominated as the Best Menswear designer at the2012 Pakistan Fashion Awards UK.. The Noman Arfeen label is stocked in boutique stores in Manchester and London.

Asifa & Nabeel

Act 1 of the designer showcases was closed with Asifa & Nabeel’s collection entitled “Leaves of Fall” which drew inspiration from the season of autumn. The collection comprised of both womenswear and menswear and was designed keeping in mind the transition of summer into winter manifesting in a colour palette that blended shades of fall into the whites and greys characteristic of winter. Indeed the collection represented a mix of cool and warm hues resulting in a neutral appeal with a depth reminiscent of the season. The collection featured unconventional silhouettes with a diversity of cuts and layering involved and to this end presented knee length tops, cropped jackets with bold pockets along with kurta style blouses with overlapping. Fabrics such as silks, chiffons, cottons and cutouts were used to further enhance the cuts and silhouette.

The label Asifa & Nabeel has been established for the past 13 years and is well renowned and respected for its Haute Couture, Bridal and Prêt-à-porter lines. The brand currently retails across 3 of Pakistan’s major cities as well as to an international clientele. Indeed their signature style is found in their flamboyant use of diverse fabrics and unique interplay of colors and cuts. Asifa & Nabeel showcased for the fourth time at the prestigious PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week.

Act 2

Ammar Belal

Act 2 began with Ammar Belal’s collection entitled “Reunion 2012” which drew inspiration from the youth of Pakistan. There was a free spirited feel to the entire collection, which offered staple basics in a teenager’s wardrobe with elements of quirky detailing. A rainbow of colours in knitwear jersey, pique and rib are used to incorporate a sporty, performance based feel in all the pieces. Taking a typical high school setting as a background, there were a variety of signature looks that play on the most common stereotypes present in our educational institutions. The “Jocks” part of the collection consists of varsity letters and sports stripes detailing on most of the pieces while the “Preppie” section offers a variety of polo shirts in a spectrum of colours. Hints of a houndstooth plaid were also reminiscent in the pieces as a reference to the classic boarding school uniform. The “Bohemian Artists” in the collection were showcased through Ammar Belal’s multi layered, digitally printed chiffon of Jackson Pollock’s art. The wild, chaotic brush strokes in the painting/print had a subliminal harmony that relates to the mood of the youth today. The mixing of a luxury chiffon fabric with basic sports jersey illustrates the concept of reinventing ones style and questioning ones pre-existing notions of acceptability. The show used a lot of college students as models and also brought to the ramp young students from Rubina Foundation along with a dance performance choreographed Wahab Shah.

2012 marks ten years of Ammar Belal’s career in the fashion business and his first launch show for the label “ABCD”, a streetwear brand after which he later launched his internationally acclaimed couture jeans label AS Jeans. The core identity behind ABCD has been to inspire youth to challenge all existing stereotypes and write a new chapter on the freedom of expression. Indeed the designer maintains that it is Pakistan’s current generation that bears the potential of carving out a new identity for Pakistan’s future and that now more than ever he aspired to contribute to that movement by instilling values that celebrate differences rather than crucifying them.

Within the fashion industry, Ammar Belal’s  progressive approach to showcasing fashion through music videos and films has earned him various awards, including Best Emerging Designer (Lux 2005), Best Menswear Designer (Indus 2006), Best Prêt Designer (Sunday 2008) and Best English Song (MTV/Indus 2006). The Ammar Belal signature label itself was launched in the summer of 2007 and prides itself on being the first luxury brand from Pakistan that adheres to the highest international standards of quality. It is the only Pakistani fashion house that outsources their manufacturing to Europe and is involved only at the design and marketing stages of its products. The Ammar Belal label has 2 outlets in Lahore and is stocked in boutique stores in Karachi, Islamabad, and Dubai.

Zonia

The second show of Act 2 was Zonia’s womenswear collection entitled ‘Sylphic Inca’ which was inspired by the American Native Tribe ‘Inca’. The design philosophy behind the collection was to incorporate this tribal culture gracefully with a spark of flamboyant colours. To this end four key colours were part of this collection but in different tones, with brighter and subtle shades of each colour with vivid and embroidery colours. Inca drew upon the polychromatic and shaped patterns from its tribal aesthetic history, which were revitalized in embroidery and textile prints. Further, computerized embroidery was blended with ‘Aar’ work with appliqués and triangular trims also included. The fabric used was woven Doria with Incaic miniature patterns with pure chiffons and light weight linens. All of Zonia’s prints were custom-made and digitally printed. Design elements used are pointed hemlines, asymmetrical closures, variation in lengths and hem shapes. Shaped patterns and lines manifest of the Inca tribal legacy was taken forward by particularly adding circular and triangular shapes of dissimilar sizes in cuts and embellishments.

Zonia won the first national painting prize in a competition held for children all over Pakistan organised by National Arts Council at the tender age of five. This inspired her to keep moving forward in the field of fine arts.  In 2010, she was the recipient of the Lux Style Awards academic scholarship and earned a graduating distinction from the Pakistan School of Fashion Design. This was the second time Zonia participated at the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week.  

Fahad Hussayn

The Finale of Day 2 was staged by Fahad Hussayn with his luxury/pret spring/summer 2012 collection entitled “Paranoir” which included menswear and womenswear pieces. The collection drew inspiration from the sub continental stereo types associated with colours - for instance, widows adorned in white and widows adorned in black both in times of mourning but never to mark celebration. With ‘Paranoir’ Fahad Hussayn celebrated the beauty of these colours.

The collections primary fabrics were cotton, silk, chiffon and high count linen. The collection was cut in clean shapes with construction paired with industrially embroidered sheer pants & linen saris give a summer feel to the collection. The use of signature Fahad Hussayn semi-precious crystal embellishments with colours such as black, white and gold continued as undertones throughout the collection.

With a Bachelor’s degree in Textiles from Beaconhouse National University in Lahore, Fahad Hussayn has been an underground designer for over 5 years. In 2007, he opened his atelier and is now successfully stocking his prêt-à-porter collections in stores across the country and internationally in India and Dubai. Fahad Hussayn has been nominated twice at the Lux Style

Awards in 2008 and in 2009 for Emerging Talent and Menswear Designer categories, respectively.

The PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week is being produced, choreographed and directed by HSY and his team with Maheen Kardar Ali and Zara Shahjahan for front stage management. Mohsin Ali and Akif Mahmood managed the exhibition area, Fahad Hussayn and Ali Xeeshan are working alongside the style teams for hair and makeup, Kamiar Rokni and Asim Naeem are overseeing green room [backstage] management.

The event is being coordinated by the Rteam, with foreign buyer and media management by Latitude and PR by Lotus.