LAHORE: The 250-year-old historic haveli of Wajid Ali Shah inside Bhati Gate was bedecked with red roses whose fragrance filled the air, as designer Hassan Sheheryar Yasin (HSY) presented a solo fashion show, titled #MohabatNama, as an ode to the city of Lahore and to celebrate his 24 years in the industry.

The dress code for the evening was white eastern. HSY, in his opening remarks, lauded the services of poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz and invited the poet’s daughter Salima Hashmi to recite some verses by her father about Lahore.

Around 70 models walked the ramp in the designer’s formal collection to a soundtrack featuring some poplar sub-continental music. At the end the designer mentioned in his note of thanks that each outfit featured in the show was named after the model wearing it in tribute to them, and their careers. The show also featured former supermodels such as Zainab Qayyum, Natasha Hussain, Simi Pasha, Abdullah Ejaz and Andleeb Rana.

At the end, HSY said: “#MohabatNama is my tribute to my city with its legacy, tradition and heritage presented as an experience in the show. Based in the Walled City, this haveli is immersed in its own history of the nawab’s courts, its romance, intrigues, poetry, dance, architecture and ambition, all of which for me presented the perfect palette for this collection.”

The designer said the collection was equally a journey of his evolution. “As I am myself am a [traveller] of time, it is a show where I looked to my past and the HSY legacy; where we started with our first collection, solo shows, shoots, models, make-up artists, stylists, incorporating all of these elements within the show.”

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2018