[quote=wini]Fashion in the forefront
By Faryal Shahzad
"London, Paris, New York, Milan and now, it is Lahore." These opening words by Simon P.
Lock at the media launch of the Pakistan Fashion Week, not only proclaimed the start of the four-month journey towards Pakistan's first-ever Fashion Week to be held in November, but also marked the beginning of a new epoch in the annals of Pakistan's fashion tradition.
But though the CEO, IMG Fashion and Models Asia Pacific, was listing the world's leading style capitals in his opening remarks to declare how the forthcoming Pakistan
Fashion Week could render Lahore to join the ranks of these fashion hubs, his words set the ground for some thinking.
Perhaps, it would be befitting to ask ourselves, at this point, how we plan to attend to the challenge of striking a legitimate balance between the projection of representatively indigenous fashion crafted in the hues of our culture (so that it identifies as Pakistani) and the influence of western styling (on an already westernised fashion industry), the latter inevitably becoming an overt part of an
international event being managed by international consultants and targeting an international audience. Stylist Nabila reflects on this concern by asserting, "I will support any cause that puts eastern sensibility into western silhouettes."
The international fashion week circuit is the foundation of global business enterprise for ready-to-wear
fashion designers. Twice a year, the world's leading fashion buyers from big departmental stores and fashion boutiques, along with the fashion media, travel the circuit to preview the new collections of the world's leading designers
The media launch of the Pakistan Fashion Week, held in Lahore at the Royal
Palm Golf Club last week, was expected to be a bigger affair, in terms of celebrity turn-over, at least, and with a number of Karachiites present among the organisers and guests, I repeatedly came across comments such as one given by Zeenat Saeed of Taneez. "The guest turn-over would have been much higher at an event like this, if held in Karachi." Lahore, it appears, was chosen as the appropriate venue for the mega event more out of reasons of
security than any other, though the International Management Group (IMG) chiefs also feel that Lahore holds a kind of mystique for the world audiences that is easier to capitalise on, and therefore, the city will give an advantage to the event.
A number of famous faces from the fashion world made their absence felt at the media launch of the PFW and one of the reasons for their lack of presence could be that most of them are usually vacationing abroad around this time of the year. Among those who graced the Red Carpet at The Dome were HSY, Nabila, Maria B, Frieha Altaf, Aaminah Haq, Vinnie, Ather Shahzad, and
film stars Reema and Meera, besides a few others. Some private television channels had set their booths at The Dome, and the fashionistas were asked in turn to give their views on air about the idea of an international fashion week in Pakistan and their expectations from the event.
Speaking to Images, Aaminah Haq said that the PFW would not only revolutionise the Pakistani fashion collection but will also
help set standards in related fields of modeling, choreography, make-up artistry, back-stage management and so forth. "Finally, if we want to present the business of our fashion to the world we must focus on prt rather than couture alone," she added.
Fashion weeks the world over, are more about off-the-rack than couture collections, and the PFW pursues to be no different. To be held from November 5 to 8 at the Royal Palm Golf and Country Club, the PFW, co-organised by Geo Television Network, Jang Group and Events Unlimited, with IMG as consultants, will seek to cater to international buyers, global industry players and fashionistas from all over the world. The event will showcase some of the best local
designers to international buyers and industry insiders. "We will represent the business of fashion to the world by inviting buyers from across the globe," observed
Imran Aslam. "Our focus will be on giving a strong boost to the export of our ready-to-wear items, which will be a challenge, as Pakistan is known mostly for its couture abroad and the potential of R2W export-oriented industry has never been tapped from a platform like the PFW."
The 4-day event will present spring/summer ready-to-wear collections for 2008. PFW would be categorised into collection shows, comprising individual, as well as, group shows, designer suites and exclusive exhibitions at The Source, which will be an industry-based exhibition forum at the PFW. The Source aims at exhibiting the wonders of our accessory designer industry, especially designer jewellery, bags, shoes, lingerie, leather goods, sportswear and textiles. Designer suites will provide exclusive exhibition booths to designers excelling in ready-to-wear collection. Frieha Altaf, who will be doing the choreography and the after-party management of the event, expressed extreme enthusiasm about the fashion week, adding that she was "thrilled to bits, as this type of an event was long overdue."
The international fashion week circuit is the foundation of global business enterprise for ready-to-wear fashion designers. Twice a year, the world's leading fashion buyers from big departmental stores and fashion boutiques, along with the fashion media, travel the circuit to preview the new collections of the world's leading designers.
When asked about the criterion for selection of designers for the PFW, it was learnt that there would be over 30 designers from across the country participating in about 20 shows, while those desirous of participation would have to go through a series of selection assessments for which a selection panel has already been established.
The National Selection Panel comprises stylist Nabila, Muniba Kamal of Instep, Sabene Saigol of Libas International, Tapu Javeri, Shamaeel, Asim Naeem of Pakistan School of Fashion Design (PSFD), Azfar Hassan of Matrix Sourcing and Jodi Pritchard of IMG Fashion. An advisory board has also been made to look into the various affairs of the PFW. Imran Aslam, Simon P. Lock, Maheen Khan, Sehyr Saigol, Sonya Battla, Nabila, Muniba Kamal, Zahir Rahimtoola, Asim Qureshi and Tahseen Shaukat constitute the advisory board of the PFW. In the words of Asim Naeem, a PSFD faculty member, "Finally, fashion is becoming an industry, rather than entertainment, in Pakistan."
While talking to Images, IMG chief executive Simon Lock also disclosed that in order to ensure that the eyes of the fashion world are focused on Lahore this November, an exclusive time slot for PFW has been chosen that does not coincide with any fashion weeks anywhere around the world. "PFW will be positioned on the international fashion week circuit following the end of all European shows. Buyers and media will be given enough time following the conclusion of the last European fashion week to be held in Paris in mid-October, so that they can finalise their business before considering travelling to Pakistan."
As an added gesture of reassurance and to give extra mileage to PFW, IMG plans to have a snippet on Pakistani fashion at the Lakme Fashion Week to be organised by IMG in India a month prior to PFW. "The Pakistani segment at Lakme will act as a promo for the November mega event," he observed.
Commenting on the significance of the PFW in terms of the local film industry, Meera said that an overall boost to the fashion industry would help elevate standards in films, as more decent and well-designed costumes will make way onto the silver screen, while Reema revealed that she is already getting the costumes of her underway film designed by HSY, Karma and Nomi Ansari, claiming that she has pioneered the trend of employing designer outfits in films. Reema emphasised the need for improving the quality and designing of costumes and the standard of make-up techniques used in our films.
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She started her career as a model and now she also does acting on TV and comparing, and apart from these full time occupations, she is also studying for her first year Inter. That's right! This young lady, who might be one of your favorite TV screen idols, who has reached these heights of stardom has hardly grown out of her teens and has just started her college education.
ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan, staunch opponent of President Gen Musharraf, faced embarrassment in the National Assembly on Tuesday when Dr Aamir Liaquat Hussain, state minister for religious affairs, reminded the house of the cricketer-turned-politician's "illicit relations" with Sita White. Imran had made a speech critical of the government, but drew the state minister's ire when he said that Aamir Liaquat held a degree from an institution that had been registered five years after he had been awarded the degree. "The state minister, sitting beside the prime minister, also got his PhD degree six months after doing his master's," Imran said. The prime minister was seen whispering to Aamir Liaquat, who immediately went to his seat to respond to the allegation on a point of personal explanation. "My educational competence will only be determined if they who doubt my qualification come face-to-face for a debate with me. But I assure the house that after the Hudood bill is passed, Sita 
White will also get justice," the minister said, drawing a round of desk-thumping and laughter from treasury members. He said Imran Khan would have to explain the nature of his relations with Sita White. Imran wanted to respond and the opposition urged National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain to allow him to do so, but the speaker asked Imran not to indulge in controversy. "If you level an allegation against someone, you will receive a response," the speaker said. Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Sher Afgan Niazi interrupted Imran Khan and said he would not have won an NA seat had "hidden hands" not supported him. "I challenge him to resign and contest a fresh election against me from Mianwali," he said. Imran seized on the minister's statement as an admission that the elections were rigged. "He has admitted that the elections were rigged. If I was elected by rigging, the treasury members were elected by rigging. The minister is accusing the president of rigging the elections," Imran said.
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