The glitz and glam of the 20th consecutive fashion week hosted by the Lahore based Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) continued on the second day of the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week. The Council’s collaboration with the Trade Development Authority Pakistan (TDAP) attracted international buyers, opening up more avenues to promote the business of fashion.
The evening commenced as guests entered through the blue carpet sponsored by Aquafina which was abuzz with fashion influencers and key representatives from the local and international fashion industries.
Hosting some of Pakistan’s most renowned designers, the striking collections on Day Two of PSFW ’19 represented high-street, lawn and debut designers. Rici Melion opened the show and the collections that followed included, Sameer Karasu, Zasimo, Hana, Chapter 2, Sana Safinaz, Aquafina Rising Talent (Hafsa Mahmood, Mahnur Azam and Zeeshan Mohyuddin,) Saira*Shakira and The House of Kamiar Rokni.
As is now traditional, the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week also marked the continuation of the Council’s platform for young designers in their ‘Aquafina Rising Talent’ segment. Out of 24 qualified designers, three young and creative fashion students were hand-picked and nurtured by PFDC Council members to allow the integration of new ideas and concepts onto a platform as established as the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week. The designers, Hafsa Mahmood, Mahnoor Azam and Zeeshan Mohyuddin debuted their collection on the PSFW ramp alongside well renowned names from the Pakistan Fashion Industry.
Celebrating 20 years of consecutive, critically acclaimed fashion weeks, PFDC streamlined the process of making PSFW’19 an experience that is beneficial for stakeholders, benefactors, and fashion enthusiasts both locally and internationally. As with past traditions, PFDC continues to work closely with industry professionals and designers to make an immersive and unique experience that highlights the talents of Pakistani designers. With the help of sponsors and partners curating a show of this magnitude becomes easier allowing the best of fashion to be put on the forefront.
On this occasion, Asima Haq, Director Personal Care, Unilever spoke about the brand’s long-lasting partnership with PFDC, “For 10 years, Sunsilk has collaborated with PFDC to create a show by taking contemporary fashion and allowing women to pave their personal success stories through Sunsilk. Moving forward, Sunsilk aims to open up possibilities for young women with dreams and aspirations that have to do with the fashion industry. We are always delighted to partner with PFDC and hope that our relationship continues to become even stronger over the years.”
The Council organizes back-to-back Spring and Fall fashion trade events as per the international fashion calendar. It leads the industry through creative influence and is strategically working towards improving the business of fashion while repositioning Pakistani fashion in the global fashion economy.
Collection Details are as follows:
Rici Melion – Voices:
Rici Melion’s Spring Summer 19 collection, ’Voices’ was mental disorders musing in avant-garde men tailoring; with the aspiration of opening up the conversation about mental health, that is predominantly yet a taboo in our society. The collection acknowledged, celebrated and accepted our disorders and differences in a glamorous manner.
Each ensemble vividly highlighted common mental disorders through carefully designed and thought-provoking remarks. The outfits essentially had been designed to be very conspicuous and distinct in their persona matched up with complementing accessories defining the particular mental illness. The collection showcased an amalgamation of precision fits, premium fabrics, luxe details, exaggerated asymmetrical cut lines, classic loose fit pleated silhouettes, and bare-chested coats, among other things. Adding trendsetting personality to the collection were the elaborate suit trimmings, adjoined to elevate the persona of each attire. Ahmed Ali Butt was the showstopper.
Sameer Karasu – High Street Savages:
Starting this summer with his debut collection titled “high street savages’ Sameer Karasu took inspiration from the various elements of fantasy, fiction, glamour, mythology, tragedy, and drama. His keen interest in console games, art films, theater, and history allowed him to merge these elements into wearable pieces of art. Every garment represented the modern woman in his fantastical world of magic. Witches, warriors, angels, and demons were portrayed through his pieces. His immaculate collection used intricate sewing techniques of haute couture, sharp silhouettes with the perfect blend of drapery and softness. Every garment was mathematically cut and stitched to perfection by dedicated seamstresses. He presented a fresh take on fashion where one could immerse themselves in high fashion. Black abstracts paired with pink patterns, sheer organza sleeves, snake embroidered blazers, peplum tops, elaborately chic sleeves and edgy fashion accessories elevated his pieces making the collection display very unique.
Zasimo – Spring/Summer
Zasimo is Pakistan’s new and unique online destination for the latest western branded high street fashion, sportswear and international brands, providing customers next day order fulfilment. During the show, Zasimo displayed few items from its Spring Summer 2019 ladies’ collections of Dorothy Perkins, QUIZ, Vero Moda, New Look which are just some of the exciting western brands that Zasimo will be offering to its customers online. Along with women’s wear, they have a full range of men’s fashion brands including QUIZ Man, Jack & Jones and Burton. Fully stocked with its range growing all the time and with new styles dropping each week, the collection display was a clear reflection of what to expect. Zara Noor Abbas and Asad Siddqui were the showstoppers for Zasimo.
Hanah – Love Life Lego:
Hanah’s collection had a young vision, enticing designs, bold colors and each outfit celebrated laughter with sleek style. The pieces were all young at heart. ‘Love Life Lego’ was their first collection that presented an idea of building something new from scratch and bringing forth the perfect blend with manifold presentation. Bold outfits, playful designs, quirky and fun accessories, soft color palettes, sequined blazers, sheer flowy dresses all made fashion statements on the runway. The collection roared summer and spring with pops of neon paired with plains, classic silhouettes and colorful attires. It was surely a treat for the eyes.
Chapter 2 – Blending Time And Art Into Threads Of Time:
Inspired by the artisan and his craft, the 2019 Spring/Summer collection was spun around time, color and balance. A labor of love, the handwoven fabric is an art that requires time and patience.
Time also colors the fabric of the collection: shades of dawn blended with those of dusk; shades of blue ranged from light sky blue to deep midnight; the bold colours of the sun were balanced by the white of the clouds. Daring contrasts vie with delicate fluidity. Color blocking, classic whites with pops of colors, pastel hues with contrasting golds were worn by the models as they strutted down the runway. The ensembles, all in handloom, came just in time for the blazing summer nights.
Sana Safinaz – Boheme Luxe:
Sana Safinaz presented Boheme Luxe, a bridal pret collection. This capsule was inspired by color palettes from Afghan carpets and rugs with references to Mughal art and architecture. Boheme Luxe reinterpreted traditional bridals and fused them with modern boho-chic for relaxed glamour and easy elegance. The cuts and silhouettes merged seamlessly with the variety of fabric, embellishments and thread work used, created the signature luxe of the Sana Safinaz bridal.
Aquafina Rising Talent
As a commitment to develop a future generation of designers, PFDC partnered with World Class Aquafina for the “The Rising Talent” segment which focuses on injecting new talent into the industry. The three young designers who debuted their collections got a rousing reception from the very fashion-savvy audience.
1. Hafsa Mahmood – Nuqta
Adhering to the fervency of an inquisitive perfectionist child with a sufi soul and a keen eye for the implicit and the unseen, coupled with a passionate drive to independently ferret out the sole starting point of everything and possibly the ‘Nuqta’ that Baba Bulleh Shah referred to, the collection was an ode to the inspiring journey through finding and celebrating the Divine pivot’s existence, and incorporated ‘circle-based’ geometry and science. Fashion forward cuts and geometric patterns left the audience awe-struck.
2. Mahnoor Azam – Escape
Escape – a reality, defined as “the tendency to escape from the quotidian. An indication to retreat from unpleasant realities through diversion or fantasy. The concept explained the journey to escape the inescapable. For how a thing, a habit, has the potential to shut the mind out of reality. Yet different for everyone. The collection was inspired by the behavior of water and how the experience of floating above its surface loosens the raveled mind.
3. Zeeshan Mohyuddin – Recursion
The collection ‘Recursion’ took its inspiration from the rule of geometry which revolved around the concept of basic single module; whenever rotated on a single pivot point with size variation created an illusion within the single module. Inspirational elements had been taken from the basic geometric shapes which were amalgamated with the light shadow concept from where the monochromatic color palette was extracted.
Saira * Shakira
Saira*Shakira for PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week 2019 introduced ‘The Secret Garden’ which was an amalgamation of a variety of crafts and ornamentation techniques using sequins and oodles of Brazilian embroidery. These westernized outfits were designed using antiquated aesthetics that evoked an aura of the wild and the free. All pieces from this collection were a creation straight out of the wildlife garden, unparalleled in terms of glamour, flora, and uniqueness.
The House of Kamiar Rokni
The House of Kamiar Rokni introduced a diffusion collection. Best described as Neo-folk, the collection was a celebration of ethnicity within a traditional yet global narrative. The collection incorporated multiple traditional textiles and treatments using the ancient art of block printing, the hippie chic sensibility of tie & dye and the richly decorative fabric of brocade, he presented a collection that was unapologetically eastern, within a modern sensibility. From casual to luxury evening and formal wear, the collection had a range of soiree, dholki and mehndi wear and western outfits. Based in cottons, silks and organzas, the House of Kamiar Rokni’s diffusion line will be instantly available to order and buy online and at the studio.
PFDC is proud to continue their partnership with the global giant Unilever’s hair care brand, Sunsilk as their title sponsor and Aquafina as the Blue Carpet and beverage partner. The Media Partner is HUM TV, the Footwear Partner is Borjan, the Fragrance Partner is J. Fragrances, Transportation Partner is Careem, and the Radio Partner is FM 89. The Associate Sponsors are Lipton, Engine, and Almirah.
The teams that brought PSFW’19 together are Sadia Siddiqui of Mustang Productions as the show director, Talking Point as the PR management agency, Nabila as the hair and makeup stylist, Kamiar Rokni as the spokesperson for PFDC, Production 021 for backstage management, technical direction and event consultants, Red Communications for digital support, Rehan Babar as the red carpet host, Restart Branding Solutions for branding and logistics, Empact Activation Services for event architecture and safety, AI Solutions for crowd management and live stream, and Faisal Farooqui of Dragonfly as the photographer.
