Daily Times

Fashion Pakistan Week Festive 2018 kicked off in Karachi on Sunday. The three-day event was shorter than usual this year but had a decent lineup of designers, many of whom are bigwigs of the industry. Clothes for Karachi’s festive season, which begins in October and hosts elaborate weddings, charity galas and New Year parties, are in fact designed by many of these names.

It was a fairly simple affair, with a two-day lineup of seven designers each, prominent among them were Tena Durrani, Huma Adnan, Zainab Chottani, Aamna Aqeel, The Pink Tree Company, HSY, Wardha Saleem, Maheen Karim, Rano’s Heirlooms and finally, Maheen Khan. Day Three featured a Deepak Perwani solo show, hosted by Ronak Lakhani, who’s one of the council’s prestigious board members. Needless to say, many of Karachi’s big players were missing in action, but with the fashion industry continuously divided between the PFDC Fashion Weeks, FP Fashion Weeks and fashion shows hosted by TV channels; this fragmentation is expected to continue until resolved.

The three-day affair boasted top names in couture including HSY, Tena Durrani, Huma Adnan, Zainab Chottani and Deepak Parwani

The first to showcase her line was Tena Durrani, an experienced name in couture – who opened the fashion week with Rara Avis, a collection inspired by a rare bird that can be compared to the confident and daring woman of today.

A name synonymous with FnkAsia, Huma Adnan showed her first wedding wear collection under her relatively new, eponymous brand. The collection, titled Dehradhun, is a tribute to her ancestral hometown.

A clear indicator of fashion week is when premium gifts and giveaways start rolling in as goody bags, and a bag of chocolates and macaroons from Zainab Chottani set the premise for her collection, also showing on Day One. Khwab, she says, is a luxurious journey of dreams.

The Pink Tree Company stood out for its commitment to saving and safeguarding tradition and in the process, building an image for strong and outstanding women.

Using this as its mood board, The Pink Tree paid tribute to Sampat Pal, Nishtha Jain and Gulabi Gang with its FPW Winter Festive 2018 collection.

That definitely was one show to look forward to and then there was also the HSY finale, which was promoted by an extremely sexy video introducing the collection.

Finally, on Day Three, fashion enthusiasts experienced what appears to be a grand finale and after party rolled into one. Deepak Perwani’s Madhaniyaan will recreate the traditional wedding wear and rest assured, his runway will be speckled with prominent models and star power.

Published in Daily Times, September 3^rd 2018.