In days of yore, when Pakistani fashion was charting its meteoric rise, events used to be very glamorous, very upper-crust, utterly swanky. The décor would be exquisite and a glossy runway, set against an artistic backdrop, would exude excitement. A discerning, select crowd would sit on either side of the catwalk, viewing the show with extreme interest, all set to splurge a few millions later on the designs that it wanted to buy. There would sometimes be music later, sometimes dinner, plenty of networking.

One got a whiff of those golden heydays at the recent Alfa Mall Fashion Show, hosted by Bank Alfalah to commemorate the launch of their e-commerce website AlfaMall. Possibly the most magnificent venue in Karachi — the Mohatta Palace — had been selected for the event, the pink domes and balustrades of the structure lit up with spotlights, forming a majestic backdrop to the catwalk where the fashion show took place.

Attending the event were a curated crowd of Karachi’s crème de la crème: society scions, celebrities, designers, corporate bigwigs and, of course, bankers.

A recent show to promote an e-commerce website reminded one of fashion’s heyday and also of what was missing

For a while, it felt like one had stepped into fashion’s glorious past. The only problem was — and this is a big problem — the fashion used to be better back then. You can put up a gorgeous catwalk, come up with an exciting guest-list, bring on the lights and music, but if the fashion on the ramp isn’t all that great, the show will still end up lacking oomph.

Showcasing on the catwalk were a coterie of well-known, well-established ateliers: Deepak Perwani, the House of Amir Adnan, Munib Nawaz, HSY and a jewellery show by Ali Javeri Jewellers. These are all intriguing names — names that used to elevate a fashion show with inventive design — but their work just wasn’t as scintillating as it used to be.

Trapped in commercialism, design houses have generally veered towards pretty but not very experimental fashion, which sells well but isn’t really trendsetting. This is what one sees in their stores and this was what one saw on the catwalk at the AlfaMall show.

Let’s not be mean, though; while there was not much that was enthralling, there was a lot that one liked, nonetheless. Deepak Perwani opened the show with a glittering, multicoloured line-up dedicated to Jaipur. One of the hallmarks of Deepak’s label has been his eye for sharp silhouettes and penchant for funky design details. This was evident in the menswear in the show. What particularly caught my eye were the men who walked out right in the beginning, wearing multicoloured turbans, miniature Jaipuri men scattered all across the waistcoat and kurtas that they were wearing.

Those designs in particular were instantly covetable and signature Deepak Perwani. The womenswear was pretty. Mirrors zig-zagged amidst embroidery on a canvas of lovely colours. It was a pity, though, that some of the clothes did not fit quite right. Deepak’s fittings have always been impeccable but evidently a last-minute change in models led to some very loose-fitting cholis that listlessly hung off the body. One just expects more from a Deepak Perwani show.

Munib Nawaz’s menswear was great fun. There were funky jackets with upturned collars, trench coats, printed suits and double-breasted plaid-on-plaid-on-plaid suits! It was statement-wear that was very wearable. And while the collection was certainly commercially viable — this is what people may want to buy with winter right around the corner — it also had that all-important designer touch.

Munib, long stuck in the commercial rut of churning out sherwanis — although his sherwanis can be pretty experimental too — was having fun. And so were the people watching the show.

HSY returned to his quintessential luxurious aesthetic with a line-up of heavily worked bridal-wear and groom-wear. The designer tends to dabble with different lines, affordable luxury-wear and casual-wear et al, but one particularly connects his aesthetic with ornate wedding-wear.

I would have appreciated the addition of a new silhouette or patterns here and there but I also understood that this collection was classic Shero, an ode to the brand that he has crafted over decades in the industry. There was even a special soundtrack created for the show: listen closely and you could hear ‘Aaya Shero king’ interspersed in the rap song!

The House of Amir Adnan was not very remarkable, although a certain sari was pretty. Meanwhile, the Ali Javeri Jewellers’ show glittered aptly with very expensive, very elaborate jewellery. The styling by Zahra Sarfaraz was right on point: the male and female models wore all black festive-wear; saris, tuxes, and gowns, which looked glamorous while allowing the jewellery to take centre-stage.

It was a small line-up of designers and this particularly worked well for the event. Knowing the current commercial wave engulfing Pakistani fashion, including more ateliers would have probably meant more generic aesthetics and humdrum wedding-wear on the catwalk. Less is more works well in these sorry times when designers have curbed their creativity and become entirely retail-savvy, even when creating collections for the catwalk.

However, to be fair, as a critic one may want to see more innovation but, ultimately, the designs shown on the runway were meant to be available on the AlfaMall website for people to buy — even ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ on instalments! This could be a major reason why designers opted to show retail-friendly clothes rather than let lose their creativity just to create noise on the catwalk. Critics can go on with their dissatisfied monologues — ultimately, sales are required to oil the wheels of a business and keep it running.

Full marks go to Mohatta Palace for rising to the challenge of even uplifting the more lacklustre clothes by providing a beautiful backdrop. Full marks also go to Frieha Altaf, managing the PR and choreographing, for pulling out the stops with a show that exuded sophistication and exclusivity. A grand dinner followed the fashion show, after which Asim Azhar performed live.

The event did make a great effort, and one hopes to see Bank Alfalah extend its generosity to more fashion shows. One recalls the bank sponsoring Rising Talent shows for young designers back in the fashion week days. Could it be interested in making this show a regular fashion event?

Fashion has a sophisticated, high-end appeal and, should this show become a regular feature, it might prompt designers to especially create collections for it, to create magic through craft and colour, to deliver more highs and less lows, to raise the bar and deliver an experience that will be memorable.

This could be the support needed to awaken the fashion industry from its commerce-induced slumber, and add the glamorous image needed to pique consumers’ interest towards the fledgling digital mall. If the show becomes a regular event, it could be a win-win.

Published in Dawn, ICON, November 17, 2024