Lahore had much to be proud of on Saturday night, as esteemed choreographer, designer and talkshow host Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, held his eagerly-awaited solo show at Wajid Ali Shah Haveli. Doing justice to the celebration of his 24 year-career, HSY put in a lot of effort and heart into making the event memorable for all the attendees. The highlights were when the guests reached Shahi Mohalla area of the walled city on their cars, and from there onwards, took a Qingqi ride to the illustrious haveli’s premises. Once inside, a beautifully-decorated wall of red roses surrounding HSY’s name, was used as a backdrop where the guests could pose for pictures. Without a dash of exaggeration, the haveli was huge, in the truest sense of the word. From his immaculate choreographies to designing and hosting, HSY has indeed come a long way. A people’s person, a born showman and a destined star, he rules the roost without a shadow of a doubt As one made their way further inside, it was noticed how two paths leads to opposite ends of a hall; one towards the sitting area that was arranged in a beautifully lit patio, and the other towards an ancient stairway that led one to the humongous terrace. The show began timely with the who’s who of the fashion and media industry in attendance and also some prominent literay figures like Moneeza Hashmi, who opened the show with a thought-provoking speech about the beauty and richness of Lahore. She recited poetry and a few couplets by Faiz Ahmed Faiz about Lahore and its culture, which was met with loud applause. Later, as the fashion show began with the collection titled Mohabbat Nama, HSY displayed his signature gold embroidered sherwanis and bridals in hues of black, red, purple and blue, with lehngas, short coats, heavyset duppatas, sleevless cholis and angrakhas, paired with intricate and custom made statement jewellery pieces – completing a show which was choreographed by the maestro himself. Whatever he touches turns to gold, such is the impression HSY has on us. From his immaculate choreographies to designing and hosting, he has indeed come a long way. A people’s person, a born showman and a destined star, HSY rules the roost without a shadow of a doubt. There were quite a few more highlights and surprises of the night – set to a soundtrack of some of Pakistan’s most iconic music through the years, over 70 models walked in simultaneously, with superstar and veteran actress Reema Khan closing the show. The designer mentioned how each outfit worn by the models had been named after the model wearing it in tribute to them and their careers, so keeping that in mind, pioneer supermodels like Zainab Qayyum, Natasha Hussain, Simi Pasha, Vaneeza Ahmed, Abdullah Ejaz, Andleeb Rana and Nael Ahmed flanked by renowned makeup artist and stylist Shahzad Raza walked the ramp with HSY’s sister Afshan. Concluding the event, HSY expressed his fondness, love and affection for the city of Lahore, which he said, gave him ‘wings to fly’. The guests were treated to exotic night of dinner later. Published in Daily Times, April 23rd 2018.