In an article “Fashion Pakistan Week ’17 – is skin show the new norm?” published in Daily Times on September 20, 2017, the author heavily criticised collections showcased in Fashion Pakistan Week earlier this month.
Needless to say, the article had a judgemental tone with too many assumptions and hastily drawn conclusions. The author primarily based her assumptions on the fact that these clothes were not “practical” for family functions because of their ‘unnecessary’ skin-show. Now here is my contention with this claim; when you are a spectator for a fashion show, it is important to bear in mind that a designer is not only selling the outfit as a whole but is also setting a trend – be it the cut of that outfit, the colour or the style. So, to assume that the outfit will not sit well with audiences seems more like a personal view. Secondly, to criticise an outfit because it is not something one would expect to wear on their own family function should not pave for the gross generalisation that the same standard is practiced throughout the society. We all know that generalisations leave no room for difference in opinions and lead to a rather ridiculous set of standards for people who may or may not believe in them.
Next up is the most problematic aspect of the entire article; the author claims that the collections showcased, “devalued” a woman’s grace and femininity. Now here is the problem with this claim – where is the definition of ‘grace’ and ‘femininity’ coming from? Who has set this standard and why is it so rigid, that bare shoulders and exposed midriffs are suddenly posing a threat? What is essentially happening is that once you reduce “grace”, “respect” and “femininity” to a person’s appearance and their clothes, you are taking away any depth from that person, who they are, and the way they carry themselves. This mentality is a prime example of our society’s ingrained misogyny – where we reduce women to their outfits, get offended because a woman walked the ramp in a deep neckline, and all the while forgetting that we were all applauding a bare-chested male model, who flexed his non-existent biceps for us later that day.
Pakistan’s fashion scene has been one of the proudest and strongest pillars of Pakistan, our designers have competed head to head with big international names. We need their creativity and also need to support them in their adventurous ventures to ensure their creative expression is not stifled. And let’s be honest, we can never please everyone – creative freedom and expression will often offend and rebel against traditional values and that is the bitter truth. At the end of the day, the market – be it fashion or any other industry – works on a simple principle of demand and supply. If there exists a demand for “deep necklines”, “short trousers” then they will prevail, but the beauty of it all is that we have the choice, to indulge or not indulge in this fashion. So, no – skin show is not a “norm”, it’s a choice.
The writer graduated from Northwestern University in Qatar and is currently an Assistant Editor at Daily Times