ISLAMABAD: "Growing up in the 70s meant that we weren’t bombarded by social media and technology. It meant spending sunny afternoons lying under cloud-filled skies and running wild with our imagination."
Written by the designer herself to introduce her latest offerings to the world, nostalgia and simplicity are the themes that run through Zara Shahjahan’s ready-to-wear Eid collection, romantically entitled “Monsoon Afternoon.”
"We had mud stuck between our toes and grass in our hair as hours passed us by. We didn’t need to glue our eyes to any screen, we just needed one another.”
For the Lahore-based Shahjahan’s Eidul Adha collection, released for pre-order in mid August, the pieces were designed to reflect a time before the world got complicated.
"[Growing up in a simple time] meant dancing under monsoon rains till our feet gave out from under us.”
The collection takes itself literally as it was shot on a Monsoon afternoon. Models Saheefa Jabbar Khattak and Eman Suleman were joined by musician Altamash Sever in a field dotted with puddles for a shoot with photographer Umar Nadeem.
"This collection is youthful, simple yet elegant, and is geared toward an audience that find beauty in simplicity,” wrote Shahjahan.
Paired with simple hair and barely-there makeup, the clothes though not meant to shout, stood out. The color palette of the collection dips into pastels with minty greens, tea rose pinks, subtle and regal greys, muted yellows and reserved blue, paired with white and pink embroidery.
The outfits were cut in recognizable silhouettes of mid-length kameezes and shalwars, with simple button-down round necks, or a high collared sleeveless shirt. There is an eye-catching bright pastel green with a scalloped lace hem, a washed navy blue empire -waist kameez (reminiscent of a classic pishwas) with a floral print in standout reds and greens, and even a wrap-tie shirt with a flattering cinch at the waist.
Dupattas with ombre coloring in varying soft, lightweight fabrics of cotton, lawn and organza blends.
The collection harks back to the designer’s youth and how she would get ready to celebrate Eid in her hometown of Lahore. The evocative collection and the stunning accompanying editorial bring to life the aesthetic vision of an Eid that once was married to an Eid that exists today.
