LAHORE: Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) held its 20th fashion week between April 11 to 13th at the swanky Nishat Hotel in Lahore, showcasing the crème de la crème of Pakistan’s couturiers and trends that are expected to dominate the fashion landscape for the rest of the year.
From resort to daily wear, avant-garde to bridal wear, the ramps were a diverse sampling of aesthetic from designers who set the standard for fashion trends in the country with a special focus on color.
Neons, pastels, and saturated rich colors mixed and contrasted off each other making for one of the more colorful ramps in recent history. Across different silhouettes, both eastern and western, casual and formal, Pakistan’s couturiers did not hold back on color. In fact, for the finale show, HSY presented an entire collection in a deep romantic red.
But if there was one color that truly had its day under the spotlight this fashion week, it was blue. Laced boldly into prints, such as Rokni’s show-stopping gown and across Saira Shakira’s fun separates- even in menswear designer Rice Melion’s runway- blue seemed to be the week’s top tone!
The ramp for spring and summer was also heavily dominated by a bold black/gold combination with designers offering up a number of ways to serve the fierce look. From upgraded casual looks like those seen in retail giant Khaadi’s Chapter 2 show, to formal evening wear as seen on the ramp for popular designers Fahad Hussayn, Hussain Rehar and Zara Shahjahan.
Despite an unbridled focus on color, few palettes say ‘Summer is here’ like whites do. Designers like Zara Shahjahan, Sania Maskatiya, Hana and Chapter 2 served up looks that encompassed daily-wear, special occasions and even bridals with the fresh summery purism of white.
For the last few years, every fashion week in Pakistan has seen designers pulling ideas from the archives; reviving cuts, fabrics and the handiwork of bygone eras, particularly when it comes to traditional eastern wear and this fashion week too had its moments of revival.
Designers like Kamiar Rokni and Sania Maskatiya gave the best of Pakistan’s fashion history a contemporary reset by producing delectable ‘gota’ (traditional applique embroidery) work and reimagining contemporary gowns with quintessentially Pakistani twists.
Finally, as far as eccentric runways go, it seemed this season’s ramp truly embraced the spirit of warm weather with huge, eclectic prints. Sameer Karasu’s collection “High Street Savages” was full of bold, expertly placed prints. Saira Shakira, Zaha and Fahad Hussayn also let their prints do the talking, creating entire collections out of the playful contrasts of print-on-print.
