By Maliha Rehman
Laam Fashion Week (LFW), with its very first edition, has jumpstarted the fashion week machinery after a long, long time. And it has set some very high benchmarks.
For four days, 37 collections were shown on the runway, ranging from veterans to retail brands to exciting new entrants like KIBO, Amna Ilyas, Bulbul and Mo by Mohsin Tawasuli. Not every collection was outstanding but there were many that were. Diverse aesthetics were presented on the catwalk, as should be the case at fashion week.
It was also really some catwalk; a single white platform stretching down the length of the show area, with a massive three-dimensional display of LED screens forming the backdrop. Shows were simultaneously being livestreamed in real-time, with online platform LAAM – the event’s co-founder along with Designer651 – proposing to set up a runway to retail framework. What you saw on the runway was going to be readily available for online customers.
There was more: a ‘coffee collective’ was set up in the adjoining hall, with a DJ playing thumping music excitedly in the intervals between shows. And a very Instagrammable digitized passageway led to the main halls, adding to the excitement as soon as you reached the event.
More than anything else, though, what made LFW truly enjoyable was the positive energy in the air. The people in the audience, the designers participating, the models getting ready backstage were all truly excited to be there. In most shows, celebrity showstoppers were not required to prompt the media representatives sitting in the front row to make videos of the collections. The fashion itself was the star. This was refreshing – one gets tired of the heavily celebrified catwalks and fashion campaigns that tend to dominate present-day media.
Throughout the four days long event, the LFW team sat in the front row, cheering for friends’ shows and clapping for younger brands venturing on to the runway. LAAM’s CEO’s Amir Iqbal and Arif Iqbal and Design651’s founder Saad Ali and designer experience director Maheen Kardar, along with their teams, would all be present. Event director HSY did a great job with keeping spirits high and choreographing the show. Lotus PR, headed by Selina Rashid Khan, with her right hand, Zubair Malik perpetually on the alert, were efficient as always, answering queries, sorting out issues and promptly providing press releases and photographs.
The effort, the camaraderie, the support for each other and the sheer love for fashion was all very evident. They were there to make sure that LFW’s debut event worked out well and they were also happy to see their efforts come to fruition.
Having said that, the retail to runway concept may seem like a great idea in theory but similar past experiments had proven that it is often a tall order to fill. Around the time LFW concluded, the event’s official website stated that images of the collections seen on the runway would soon be uploaded and available for retail.
Would designers be able to do so efficiently? In the past, many had not managed to do so. Would they do so now? Or, would they return to fulfilling past orders and getting busy with the money-minting process of selling lawn and Eid pret collections?
One does hope that they deliver, simply because there were some truly sensational collections shown on the LFW runway. Focusing on day three and day four of the event for this review, the earlier shows featured collections by KIBO, Golmohar by Asif Chaudhary, Kiara, KB by Zulfiqar Malik, MISL, Meeral, Amna Ilyas, Meerak, Mohagni, Bulbul, Rang e Haya, Mushq and Haseens.
The high-end designer lineups followed later in the evening and it was undeniable that The House of Kamiar Rokni, Nomi Ansari and the fledgling Mo By Mohsin Tawasuli ruled the runway. There were also other collections that stood out and some that did not.
Here’s the lowdown:
The House of Kamiar Rokni
This wasn’t just the usual wedding-wear. Under Kamiar Rokni’s gimlet eye, the traditional silhouettes that are essential at the desi wedding were given an all-important designer twist. The usual phool-patti embellishments were replaced, by star-like clusters of sequins, artistic florals, winding patterns of gota and then, just a little bit of pixie dust.
There was also a delicious mix of color, introducing shades that are yet to become ubiquitous all across the wedding-wear market; light turquioise, hot pink, sky blue, olive green, deep vermillion and a cheeky bubblegum pink for the young at heart.
It is notable that the designer had made an effort to put together a modeling pool for his show, with many models who were not part of the regular LFW entourage added in. One saw Nimra Jacob, Eman Suleman, Rubbab Ali, Aqsa Shah and Trinette Lucas, among others, on the catwalk. Stylist Minahil Cheema had also been taken on board. When you showcase a collection, whether at a fashion week or in a solo outing, do it right. And the clothes on the runway were well worth the effort.
This was the House of Kamiar Rokni, updated, reasserting the brand’s strength with color, cut and craft. Truly gorgeous.
Summat
Summat’s lineup of evening dresses was uninspiring and repetitive. A brand dabbling with anglicized silhouettes needs to be a pro at cuts and drapes. Fittings need to be impeccable. The embellishments shown on a runway should also ideally offer something new – which they did not.
Mo By Mohsin Tawasuli
Mohsin Tawasuli molded, draped, deconstructed and then reconstructed with a canvas that moved from a crispy white to an earthy brown, a deeper chocolate and a fiery red. This may have been the debut catwalk show for the Mo by Mohsin Tawasuli brand but Mohsin certainly isn’t a debutante. His flair for creating standout, avant-garde fashion was evident in his show, with more fantastical pieces paired with wearable ones.
There were jackets constructed through Origami-like folds, tassels, pleats, ruffles and plenty of layering. It was a very mature, very fashion-forward collection announcing, loud and clear, that Mohsin, finally deciding to launch out on his own, was all set to redefine Pakistani fashion.
Saira Shakira
Saira Shakira played to their strength, tweaking traditional wear, infusing it with glamor and modern elements. Florals in autumnal hues ran along the length of one very pretty gown, sequins zigzagged down the length of a lehnga, meshes of flowers were cut-worked on necklines and trousers and hems were accentuated by intricate embroidered borders.
The collection was cohesive, well-constructed and offering a covetable, trendy take on wedding formals.
Nomi Ansari
Nomi Ansari, with the opening act on the fourth day of LFW, proved yet again that he is a master couturier in a league of his very own. Not only does he have a passion for color, not only does he have an eye for mixing color and print with intricate embroideries but Nomi also stands apart as one of the very few designers with a hold over impeccable construction.
A choli by Nomi Ansari, even if its heavily embroidered, will fit just right, held at the back sometimes by merely a single strap. The cancan will never peep untidily beneath his lehngas. The fabric will fall just right, the sequins will glitter, the colors will enchant and you will hear the most wondrous music in your head while you view the collection.
Truly, truly beautiful.
Zainab Chottani
Zainab Chottani’s Night Garden – A Couture Reverie featured a palette dominated by jewel tones, accentuated by plenty of bling. The lineup of evening wear was contemporary, very shimmery and neatly embellished. The designer dabbled with variations of the sari, shalwars, jackets and kaftans and played with some ombre hues as well.
It was all very wearable but one has seen more innovation in silhouette, color and embellishment from Zainab Chottani in the past.
Souchaj by Mehek Junaid
Slowly but surely, Souchaj by Mehek Junaid has been venturing into the spotlight with campaigns and showcases. The brand’s ethos leans towards playing with colors and traditional elements like chata pati and floral embroideries and the clothes in the collection were certainly very pretty, all set to make impact at a wedding.
Having said this, designer Mehek Junaid now needs to also try a bit of experimentation. Get creative with new color combinations, perhaps? Etch out more distinctive embroidery patterns? It is only then that Souchaj will be able to stand apart as a trendsetting brand and not just a commercially viable one.
HSY
In HSY’s finale, model Mehreen Syed came on the runway as a showstopper. It was probably the most impactful, more viral, most filmed part of the show. Her hair falling in gorgeous waves, Mehreen strode across the runway, the supermodel who has always worn HSY best.
The lineup featured edgy twists to traditional silhouettes, with the embroideries and palette that is signature HSY. There were statement jackets and capes draped over saris, voluminous shalwars, short angarkhas and flared pants – again, HSY luxury-wear staples that you instantly recognize as his.
One wondered, though, why the show began with a video of the Quaid’s speech and culminated with Mehreen walking out, with a video of the Minar-e-Pakistan looming in the background. What is the connection of this collection with nationalism except, of course, that it has been made in Pakistan?
The show wrapped up with HSY taking a bow, surrounded by confetti. His energy throughout LFW had been undeniable, tirelessly standing at the stage at the end, directing the show, dancing to the music, keeping the good cheer and excitement going. The applause he got was well-deserved.
The applause that LFW has gotten is also very well-deserved. Exhilarating, reenergizing, bring fashion back and hopefully, making sure that it is here to stay. One could keep clapping away.
What do you think?