LAHORE: The four-day (April 13-16) grand Sunsilk fashion week by the Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) opened at the Expo Centre in Johar Town on Friday.
This April marks the fifth consecutive PFDC fashion week, the third year of prêt & porter fashion.
The first day was structured into two acts: three ramp shows (each consisting of six designers), and a trends show put together from the works of participating designers.
The Act 1 of week began with the sister duo Nickie Nina’s latest prêt a porter collection ‘Royal Military’. Though Nickie-Nina are better known for their sleek silhouettes and flowing clothes, this collection was a complete diversion from their well-known design sensibility.
The collection encompassed the strength and regal appeal of the military: the cuts and silhouette were inspired by the expert and almost rigid tailoring of military uniforms, as well as the sophistication and elegance of the armed forces. The silhouette was therefore more structured the lines more straight and rigid and the embellishments even more detailed than before. The colour palette was diverse and taken from traditional military shades along with an assortment of military insignia, medals and badges.
Next on the runway was Karachi-based designer Tazeen Hasan with her prêt a porter women’s wear collection ‘Evocative’. The collection is based in chiffons and the cuts are soft and feminine. The embellishments include frilling, interspersed with an extensive use of sequins, bugle beads and floral ornamentation.
Act 1’s second show belonged to the AZZA's spring/summer 2013 women’s wear collection ‘Inheritance"’ an ode to the creative director, Azeeza Desai Khan’s Indian and Afghani roots. The designer used artisanal textile craft of South Asia through rich embellishments, hand embroideries and silks fused with Western modernized cuts. The collection leveraged dimensional South Asian textiles including pure silks, chiffon, net and organza alongside antiqued gold and silk thread finished embroideries.
Opening for Day 1’s Act 2 was Élan’s collection titled ‘Flights of Fantasy’.
The designer, Khadijah Shah, took her design inspiration from fascination with Chinese designs resulting in her compilation of Oriental imagery put together over the course of several years. The colour palette ranged from popping yellow, pink, lime and electric blue along with neutrals; navy and cream. Khadijah has designed and produced two prints specifically for the collection; a white floral with butterflies and Chinese calligraphy and a cobalt cloud pattern -- both uniquely oriental.
Together the prints and plains were subtly colour blocked and juxtaposed to create a refreshing spring palette. For this collection, the designer had also reproduced Chinese art in sequin and cut glass embellishments for different pieces. It was a versatile collection which could be worn in many different ways and to that end there was an array of pants, tops, jackets and dresses that can be mixed and matched and dressed up or down depending on how one chooses to pair them.
Next on the runway was Muse with an Autumn/Winter 2012/13 women’s wear, hitting deep at the feminine heart. The collection consisted of pieces worked with delicate sequins in animal prints, as well geometric patterns. Fabrics used were crepes in powder blue, molten purple, emerald green and black.
The last designer collection on the runway belonged to Mohsin Ali -- women’s wear collection ‘Baran-i-Ishq’. Taking inspiration from the joy and rebirth that the season of spring brings, Mohsin’s latest collection celebrated the return of the season with a collection based in chiffon, jamawar and silk.
The first day’s finale was the ‘Trends Show’, which aimed to highlight the trends for the upcoming season through 15 ‘looks’ put together from the works of fourteen participating designers.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqvqF9XNy7E&feature=plcp&context=C43def1dVDvjVQa1PpcFO1cWh4PUma9XYhvUvc827oHuRX1ibjHrg%3D
