With successive launches washing over Karachi’s fashion scene in the last week of October, fashionistas now look forward to innovative ideas to spruce up the 2013-14 winter bridal season. In such a charged environment, one of the biggest names in bridal couture, Umar Sayeed, launched his off-the-rack bridals titled Psyche at Erum Shaikh’s multi-brand store Feathers at The Forum.

The event proved to be a star-studded affair for the fashion fraternity which is already splitting at the seams (but much stronger aesthetically). Umar Sayeed’s is a much sought after name and his ready-to-wear bridals at prices which are a fraction of his couture pieces saw them all flocking to the venue. The line is also allegedly available at Labels and Ensemble, and orders can also be placed with the designer at his studio.

Feathers launched its concept of off-the-rack bridals last year, no doubt made stronger this year with the latest addition of the House of Umar Sayeed. The surprise move would most definitely assist it in building a stronger, more long-lasting client base. When asked about the launch, Erum Sheikh elaborated, “An affordable line with a touch of elegance by Umar Sayeed! What more could one want? He is a well-known name in local and foreign markets and we have expatriates dropping in at our store all the time.

“Also, for weddings, people want to add a reputed designer’s outfit to the trousseau. Having said that, our other designers are also doing well, but people need a blend of names. We believe in promoting new talent but established designers motivate emerging ones to do even better. Competition is always healthy and we bring together both established and emerging designers for customers in search of variety and style.”

Psyche is all about sheer elegance, simplicity and being classy with kaleidoscopic colours, flowing chiffons and luxurious silken textiles. The palette varies from cool pastels to bright juicy shades, well-placed appliqués and detailed hand embroideries.

Images on Sunday asked Umar Sayeed about his decision to stock Psyche at Feathers. “Feathers has become one of the prominent names in multi-brand stores and hopefully it will turn out to be one of the good choices I’ve made in life. Plus, it’s always good to give a chance to upcoming potential. My expectations are high because of the clientele and the reputation it carries in the market. The collection bears the Umar Sayeed signature which has always been identified as simple yet classic. The unique selling proposition (USP) of this collection is that it is readily available and it basically targets the clientele who hasn’t got the time to go to darzis and get fabric converted into a masterpiece!

“But mostly, the line caters to an international clientele who travel from all parts of the world to attend weddings in Pakistan and haven’t got much idea about local trends and markets. The outfits presented in the fashion presentation are a mix-n-match of the outfits usually chosen for barri, jahez, and for the relatives of the family of the groom and the bride to be presented as gifts. It’s very affordable as compared to the usual House of Umar Sayeed line, and will surely impress the customer quality-wise,” he added.

“Such events are a source of excitement and great respite from the stressful conditions prevailing in the country and especially Karachi. At the same time, it provides attendees with valuable insight into the latest trend for the upcoming shaadi season. Also, the saying: ‘something is better than nothing’ rings true in this case and certain individuals in our fashion industry need to appreciate the effort associated with such a launch event rather than subjecting it to narrow-minded skepticism, criticism and raising unnecessary questions of why, how who, etc,” pointed out the show organiser, Tehmina Khaled.

The launch event featured some fresh, new faces in modelling, namely Noor Ul Ain and Marvi Sarfaraz who were handpicked by Umar Sayeed to make sure that the outfits would be showcased according to his vision and specifications. The classic makeover look of the models was executed by stylist Nabila and her team at N-Pro and the fashion presentation was choreographed by Nabil Shokat.