First I'd like to pick a bone with the creators for the lengthy name. What were you thinking? its so confusing. What acronym am I supposed to use? PFDCSFW? Really? that's like a legit computer password in its own right. Really. I've been putting off writing this post since yesterday because I did not want to partake in acronym atrocity. So henceforth in this post I shall refer to it as FW, for fashion week.
Secondly, I'd like to clear that I did not see all the shows,and haven't been able to see the collections online for a few designers so I probably won't mention them here, since I haven't seen them to comment on them.Does not mean they do not exist or are not worth mentioning.
Okay, enough whining. Since I haven't seen all the collections I thought I'd just do an overview of the wisdom that this fashion week has imparted, and some of the conclusions I have reached after viewing.
1) Hurrah for Palazzos.
Yes, finally, the churidaar and lyrca/spandex tights are being given a much needed break. Yes ladies, time to get out of your comfort zone. No more kurta and tights,well actually, thats not true; you can still get away with it, and I don't want to be hating on what has clearly been the most loved trend in Pakistani fashion since my birth, but as we all know what goes up must come down. I am personally relieved, No more balancing way too early in the morning on one leg while trying to scrunch up the churidaar on the other. No more consequential losing your balance, hurting yourself, and having a swear word be the your first utterance of the day. Almost every designer showing at FW showed some version of the Palazzo. My favorites were the gold sequins one from Elan and the patchwork ones from Sania Maskatiya.
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| Sania Maskatiya |
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| Karma |
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| Elan |
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| Akif Mehmood |
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| Mohsin Ali |
2)You don't need to go great lengths for fashion, short is back.
After an eternity of long kameezes, and tentlike tops, this summer announces the return of the short tunic/kameez. Yes the long ones still made mandatory appearances at FW, but they are much more streamlined as shown by Somal Halepoto which I really liked. What do I think about the short ones? I like em. Don't loooooove em, but with Palazzo pants they look positively hippie-ish and I love feeling like that. The ones to fall for are the one short from the saamnay and long from the back. That's just double the fun love.
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| Sania Maskatiya |
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| Somal Halepoto |
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| Elan |
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| HSY |
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| Fnk Asia |
3) Yes, you can do the shalwar too.
Ease in the shalwar in our wardrobe, it's a welcome change and you know what? they feel great. Its great to have air circulation in legs again.
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| Karma |
4) Kitsch/Dadaism inspired montage motifs/embellishments/patterns.
Ali Xeeshan, Mohsin Ali, Hamad Ur Rehman and Karma all had some really loud and colorful montagey motifs/patterns/embellishments going on. Different fabrics juxtaposed against contrasting textures. Over the top mix of colors. Subtlety be damned, bold and brash is the name of the game.
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| Mohsin Ali |
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| Ali Xeeshan |
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| Karma |
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| Hamad ur Rehman |
5)It seems like its going to be a while before we see anything that's not loose and flowy.
Thank God volume is being given a rest, but the general cut is still loose and flowy. Don't get me wrong, I love that, but sometimes its nice to be in something that is more form fitted, a little more figure enhancing.Most of the collections shown at the FW can be described in one word: Fun. Fun is great, but sometimes you just want sexy. The best piece in that regard was Elan's final number worn by Fayezah Ansari. It fit her like a glove and that was a welcome change.
Other than if you're looking for sexy you shall have to make do with off-shoulder tunic or a one shouldered flowy thingie.
6)Prints! Paints! Prints!
Prints were a big trend in the international forum for spring/summer 2012, especially florals.Zara Shahjehan and Kamiar Rokni both embraced the floral garden variety of prints while the rest went a little more arty which was lovely.
Maskatiya showed a great collection of embellishment free fabrics which let the prints do the talking. Similarly, Sadaf Malaterre created designs with Anjum Alix Noon's hand painted fabrics- with hands and eyes as key motifs. It was such a delight to see these, I'm a big, big supporter of fashion collaborating with art, and since art is timeless, these clothes seemed timeless as well. My favorite, which I cannot get a picture of was the sari by Sadaf Malaterre and Anjum Alix Noon. I've only seen one look of Kamiar Rokni's collection, and it was largely print based. Will post more when I see more.
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| Karma |
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| Sania Maskatiya |
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| Sadaf Malaterre and Anjum Alix Noon. |
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| Zara Shahjehan |
7) Colour blocking is only going to turn around and kick us in the stomach.
Don't get me wrong, hey, I'm on your side. I like color blocking, I think it looks really cool for sure, however, I think its going to be the new long length. Colour blocking came out internationally a few seasons ago, so we've already had some exposure to it, and I personally think over exposure leads to annoyance. I'm afraid with colour blocking we might see this happen. Already we saw it in every collection on the ramp, and my saturation point is near in sight. What does that mean? enjoy it for now, everyone did a great job with it- then dump it.
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| Sania Maskatiya |
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| Somal Halepoto |
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| Ali Xeeshan |
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| Elan |
8) Muse knows whats going on.
Interestingly, Muse which has been doing color blocking for the past two seasons refrained from doing it this time to a great extent.Instead, it chose powder blue as one of the primary shades for its collection. As we know, internationally, pastel colors are very now- which means, Muse does a great job of keeping up with international trends.I don't think I saw anybody do pastel this FW, most flocked towards neonsw hich are great, hip, and my personal favourties but lets face it a little last before last season.
9)Look out for Mohsin Ali.
He's got great compositional skills. He mixes kitsch with formal wear very well. He brings something very different to the table, which everyone might not like, but he isn't afraid to experiment and that means alot to me.
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| Mohsin Ali |
10) Jumpsuits won't just let go.
Infact, its almost like a trend which has now become a classic.I got my first jumpsuit about 4 years ago. Which means I've had 4 years to get over it. Yet each time a fashion week rolls around I see jumpsuits in abundance which makes me question my sanity. Just when I thought it was gone, gone with the wind, and I was about to shout 'Good Riddance !' one of the Bridesmaids actresses (Rose Bryne?) wore it to the Oscars(?) and worked it really well. So yes, jumpsuits are still happening people.Enjoy, if you must.
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| Somal Halepoto |
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| Sania Maskatiya |
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| Elan |
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| Karma |
11. I'm sick of baroque inspired motifs.
Let's look else where. Ethinc motifs are looking great these days, and well so is China, which brings me to my next point...
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| Mohsin Ali |
12. ELAN!
Salute.
I loved everything I saw. Mind you, I saw all the clothes upclose and personal on a rack, not on the ramp and they were perfection. I gushed and gasped at every piece. I wanted to faint out of sheer respect, but then realized the personnel in charge of the clothes may not like that. There is nothing I wouldn't wear in it. Lots of designers get away with clothes on the ramp they would never be able to get away with in real life due to the distance and drama the ramp provides. But her clothes spoke to me on a sad hanger on a sad rack in a sad stall. The crafsmanship and execution was exquisite. I was having a party all by myself, and it was better than most I have attended in the last few months.The purple, gold, and white pants reminded me of Prabal Gurung's spring/summer 2012 collection in a good way, not in a copycat way. They were flawless. They were breathtaking. They were almost about to come to life. You can argue that the collection lacked cohesiveness and the only unifying element in the entire collection seemed to be the sequined patterns- in response I'd say shut up and learn to recognize a good thing when you see it.
13. Sequins.
Its seems like diamante, zardosi and all traditional 'kaam' is outtie and sequins are in! Muse, Elan, Karma , Tazeen Hassan- everyone flocked to sequins this time around. Lets keep that in mind for shaadi season.So glam.
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| Karma |
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| Tazeen Hassan |
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| Elan |
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| Muse |
14. I saw a bit of Dolce Gabbana Fall'12 in Nickie Nina and Akif Mehood's collections.
Not pointing any fingers, just saying. Although, tbh when I first saw DG fall'12 I thought the gold embellishment looked very traditionl/desi/Sabyasachi so.... I guess I'm not really making any point. See for yourself. Oh, also, Nickie Nina's stall was the best! They had actually spent a little time thinking about it, which is more than anything I can say for everyone else.They had a desk with a magnifying glass and similar elements placed on the desk, which went along really well with the theme of the collection. Put a smile on my face.
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Akif Mehmood:
Nickie Nina
Dolce Gabanna'12:
15. I didn't really get Ammar Belal's collection which is fine because I never do.
I mean I really appreciate the creative concepts and execution of his collections. He gives the idea a 100% and really goes after it, which is remarkable but then I look at his stuff, and I don't know what to do with it. His youth based collection must have been a breath of fresh air for all those seeing it after seeing a repetition of essentially the same trends, but again- what do I do with it? I loved the matching sport inspired outfits, even if my mind went immediately to one of Victoria Beckham's collection (the one with the sport inspired dresses). But the real show started when the designer and Amna Haq wore matching outfits from the collection for day 4 of the fashion week. What fun!
16.Sania Maskatiya is my new BFF.
I loved everything she showed. Her design aesthetic speaks to my heart and eyes. It gets me. It gets everyday me.
17.Karma tries very hard.
18.Ali Xeeshan knows how to get the crowd going.
Bijlee giri and his video were just so much fun
So yeah, those were my impressions of the FW. It clearly doesn't cover everything and everyone, but that's never the point. Also, the organization for the entire thing was great! The stalls with the collections, lawns, and Cosa cafe were a great idea. Given that these events are hardly ever punctual, the outside area was a great way to kill time. The only thing that ruined it for me were the students from the fashion school who were supposed to usher the guest but were a nuisance in total instead because they would constantly move and talk during the show, which is a buzzkill if you happen to be sitting behind them. Second, people should stop bringing little kids, or the organization should ban them, because fashion weeks are not family events, they are serious business. Would you take your 2 year old to a meeting? No na. So don't bring him to the show. And this is coming from me, the baby whisperer. I love kids, still i'm saying it. Do you really want strangers giving your kids bad looks? No na? then stop it.
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