Hassan Sheheryar Yasin — the designer, actor, choreographer, entrepreneur known as HSY and also, Shero — has always known how to put up a show.

As I write this, I wonder if perhaps he’s tired of this description that is so ubiquitously used to describe his work? Nevertheless, it’s true — Shero is a showman to the tee, conjuring up a magical joie de vivre around all that he does. When he announced a show marking his 30 years in the business, you knew that you were in for a fashion experience.

And come rain, come shine, a showman knows that the show must go on. The heavens opened up over Lahore merely a few hours before the event was scheduled to begin. Mass text messages were sent out to the entire guest list, informing them that there would be a delay of about two hours.

By the time the guests started coming in, the rain had subsided and the outdoor catwalk had been dried down. There was a slight breeze and a nip in the air — ideal weather for an outdoor fashion show.

HSY chose to celebrate his 30 years in the fashion business by putting on an elaborate solo show.And while the clothes may have traversed familiar territory for him and did not cause any shockwaves, it was a needed reminder that Pakistani fashion still has a pulse

For his 30-year celebration — the social media hashtag read #HSY30 — Shero had renovated parts of Lahore’s age-old Evernew Studios. The venue was split into past, present and future segments, with the ‘past’ particularly catching the eye.

That was an absolute passion project. A storeroom at the studio had been revamped into a sitting room for the guests. A wooden doorway marked by the designer’s signature ‘H’, and the roaring lion that is part of his logo, opened into a parlour with painted walls, a tiled floor, crystal chandeliers, old-world cupboards, sofas and leafy plants. The fragrance of motia wafted through the air.

It was a throwback to 1947, the designer told me, with all the furniture actually dating back to that time and having been sourced from various people. The pictures on the walls were reprints from various eras, including images of some of Shero’s earlier work.

A circular outdoor catwalk represented the designer’s present. The future was defined by multiple digital screens lined up within the arches of an old building right next to the catwalk. A pre-recorded high resolution version of the show was simultaneously aired on these screens as the models walked out.

But the models celebrating Shero’s 30 years didn’t just merely walk — some strode purposefully, many danced, a few others winked at the audience as they twirled. This wasn’t just any modelling pool — the men and women on the catwalk all consisted of Shero’s friends and family.

This is understandable — and, yet, in a terrain that is increasingly starved of exciting fashion, one yearns to see variations in silhouette and colour or experimentation with embellishments. There were some innovations in the layering and the wedding-wear and how the clothes were not season-specific but, fashion-wise, one wanted to see more.

His sister opened the show, followed by his niece and close friends. The professional models were those who had been significantly part of his three decades long journey; among them, Vaneeza Ahmed, Fouzia Aman, Amna Babar, Hasnain Lehri, Amna Ilyas, Rizwan Ali Jaffri, Aimal Khan and the designer’s perpetual muse, Mehreen Syed.

An international contingent formed the second part of the show — professionals that Shero has befriended over the years, including the head of Burberry Middle East, a creative director whose clients include Mariah Carey and Beyonce, the communication designer of Fendi, and the director of Dubai Design Week.

It was a mix, comprising Pakistani fashion’s movers and shakers over the years, ‘it’ members from Lahore’s high society, and ‘real’ people from around the world. Together, they represented ‘Brand HSY’.

The crowd standing all around the circular catwalk similarly signified the immense goodwill that the designer inspires, and many symbolised the various turning points in his career.

For instance, veteran designer Nilofer Shahid was in the audience, and her presence was significant not just because of her seniority, but also because she had been the first person to take a chance on Shero.

Back in February 1994, when Shero had been assisting with pinning outfits in Nilofer Shahid’s show, he had managed to convince the designer to let him direct the show. From working backstage, he got promoted to show director within a day, and there has been no looking back ever since.

Similarly, so many others at the show — members of the now dormant Lahore-based Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC), all of Lahore’s fashion fraternity, journalists, models and a smattering of actors — represented Shero’s journey. And together, this crowd hooted and cheered and even danced to the music on the catwalk as the show proceeded.

But what of the clothes, the actual raison d’etre propelling any fashion show? Opening the show was a fusion line that ran the gamut from casual statements to red carpet glam — a long gown was punctuated by a flowing cape; casual pant and shirt sets came overlapped with long jackets worked with thread embroideries; and organza was fashioned into a tunic with balloon sleeves, paired with a sequined pant.

The international contingent in the second had some hot-stepping dance moves — Danny Lee, who has worked with Mariah Carey and Beyonce, was groovy! — but moving beyond the theatrics, they came out wearing clothes that varied from smart casual statements to formal-wear.

The clothes were layered: a free-flowing trench coat flared over a waistcoat, a pleated kurta and pants, a fitted gown cut out at the back and clasped at the waist by a single chunky gold sequin and paired with a fitted jacket, and so on.

Some of the men wore caps backwards, embellished with the ‘H’ logo and quite a few men and women held handbags or briefcases, emblazoned once again with the designer’s logo.

The third and last capsule featured embellished formal-wear — saris, lehngas, sherwanis, flowing embellished dupattas. These are the designs that particularly symbolise the HSY hallmark, the luxe Eastern wedding-wear that one associates with him the most.

Model Amna Babar looked glamorous in a purple sari paired with an embellished jacket, but my favourite was Mehreen Syed, stately in a heavy duty open coat, layered over an embroidered sari in red, a colour that she has always worn so consistently in Shero’s shows.

And then the show ended. The designer spoke about the friendships he has forged over the years, the love that he has received, he even sang a bit. Confetti flew in the air and there was more song and dance. It was fun, fun, fun.

It was a befitting celebration of 30 years in the business of fashion and, yet, one has to point out that the clothes all invariably traversed familiar territory. One has seen these particular patterns of embellishments, these silhouettes, this mix of colours in HSY’s shows before. Perhaps, in paying homage to his three decades as a designer, Shero simply wanted to bring out versions of what he considers his best work?

This is understandable — and, yet, in a terrain that is increasingly starved of exciting fashion, one yearns to see variations in silhouette and colour or experimentation with embellishments. There were some innovations in the layering and the wedding-wear and how the clothes were not season-specific but, fashion-wise, one wanted to see more.

But, fashion-wise, one rarely ever gets to see more. Fashion weeks have bitten the dust and most of Pakistan’s design community is happy broadcasting new collections via Instagram rather than investing time, money, sweat and tears on staging a solo show.

In this dire climate, Shero chose to fly solo — to determinedly forge on despite a heavy rain shower, to eschew sponsors and invest his own finances, and to dive headlong into creating a fashion experience that reminded you that Pakistan’s fashion industry may be comfortably wedged into a commercial slump but it is still very much there.

And fashion shows can still very much happen, should a designer have the passion, the foresight and be able to manage the finances. Shero made waves — though not shockwaves — and if a 30-year celebration could be this exciting, imagine the show he’ll put on when his career hits 40!

Published in Dawn, ICON, May 5th, 2024