KARACHI: Fashion is one of the casualties of these dire economic times as commercial sponsors shy away from sponsoring anything that cries out ‘luxury living’, leaving designers and organisers on their own to support the fashion industry and carry the torch onwards.

One such event held on Sunday evening was Runway 2024: Summer Edition, produced by a fashion crew comprising designers, stylists, hair and make-up artists, models and fashion lifestyle enthusiasts which put on the ramp collections as varied as the designers’ backgrounds from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, and even Oman.

‘Tropical Paradise’ by Zubair Shah was the opening designer who showed a colourful, fun-filled and highly stylised resort-wear collection that featured sarongs, wispy cotton tops, neon pants, striped summery casual jackets accessorised by sun hats, chunky jewellery, sea shell-encrusted flip-flops and flowery garlands.

The show opener in this segment was social media influencer and star Arshan Ali of Arshanistaan, and showstoppers Irfan-ul-Haq of Irfanistan and popular TV sensation and celebrated drama actress Sarah Omair in a snazzy mint-green suit.

Show features various collections by designers from Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Oman

The intricate crafts of Pakistan’s artisans such as chikankari and Multani hand embroidery in vibrant colours was the hallmark of emerging women’s wear designer Seema Shah’s collection in which she showed stark white chikankari kameezes paired with Multani embroidered shalwars paired with light chiffon dupattas with trimmed edges. The overall effect remained stunning with the element of inclusivity introduced in the form of Lahore-based trans-model Afreen who walked the ramp in this segment.

A short yet inclusive and lively performance by Lahore-based singer Ayyan Superstar livened up the proceedings, which was followed by a hair trends ramp presentation by Ilyas Salon and then it was time for Umair Ilyas of Uzi Bros. who showcased heavily embellished menswear grooms-wear sherwanis in pastel shades and accessorised by flashy turbans and matching traditional footwear.

When there’s talk of fashion, how can bridals be far behind. Kulsum Yousuf of the brand K. Yousuf put on the ramp a collection painstakingly curated by Afghan and Pakistani artisans to create dream pieces with heirloom value in terms of cuts, silhouettes and embellishments.

Stylish shararas paired by long kameezes and voluminous dupattas brought with them an aura of regality and luxurious comfort on the Runway ramp, with Lahore-based performing artist Komal Khan making a visually stunning entry as the showstopper in this segment.

The grand finale by Jan Bibi Collection featured the more traditional, colourful and intricate Balochi embroidery widely carried out by women artisans in the rural landscape, and paired with gold thread metallic embroidery on luxe fabric to give off a stunning and elegant effect as models strutted down the ramp in one eye-catching outfit after another in quick succession, in what was a perfect grand finale to Runway 2024: Summer Edition.

Supermodel Aasif Rehmaan was its show director and choreographer, male grooming and hair and make-up of the female models by Ilyas Salon, Syeda Nazia as the red carpet host and show venue host Russian Centre for Science and Culture (Friendship House), whose Director Ruslan Mikhailovich Prokhorov and his family was among the honoured foreign guests present at the event.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2024