One wouldn’t term it a completely captivating experience, however, it is commendable that some creative young minds displayed their best at the Asian Institute of Fashion Design (AIFD), Iqra University on Monday evening.
The event was the final year theses display of the AIFD students. Seven students from the Textile department and six from the Fashion department, showcased their collections at the institute located at Teen Talwar.
The Textile students took inspiration from the local industry, with some delving into the relics of the past from Larkana, Sindh, and others from Empress Market and Jodia Bazaar, Karachi.
What took one’s breath away was the Hollywood-inspired theme and fashion trends that followed for. Drawing inspiration from the French fashion house Chanel, one student displayed chic jackets.
Twenty three-year-old Faiz Rohani found his muse in the Hollywood film Sin City, stating that “[the use of the colour] black [in his western-styled outfits]is inspired by the movie itself, while the deep gold identifies with glamour.”
Rohani said, “As I was doing my research, I came across the movie that inspired me to bring forward my thesis on the floor and into a reality.” Rohani put forth a dramatic collection, using lace, chiffon, net, cut-work and sequins, building on fashion trends from last year. Commenting on the movie itself, Rohani said, “I found it very disturbing, but the overview I got from it helped me to bring forward my collection.”
Another student Sarah Pasha, 23, took inspiration from Hollywood glamour as well, and said, “That is where anyone can find simplicity, with the dominance of black, which has an elegant appeal.” For her western collection, she said that she was primarily influenced by two of Hollywood’s most iconic dresses, the first being the black lamé dress worn by Marilyn Monroe and the second, the black Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The fabric used by the young student for her collection was velvet silk with a combination of black and gold, with embellishments on either the neck-line or the waist-line, along with a belt. Pasha said, “The look is sleek and simple with some sparkle on the top.”
Another student Tooba Aziz, 22, found inspiration while flipping through an international magazine with a Chanel model on the cover. The jacket worn by the model was from Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2010 line and it immediately piqued Aziz’s interest.
Aziz adopted the signature tweed look in her collection, relying heavily on jute and added her personal touch to it. The tea-pink line she created included some tilla work, with a little velvet, jamawaar and sequin design in a chattapatti format. Aziz said, “To give a rough look, I used jute in my collection. Though the inspiration came from the jacket, I developed some textures on my own.”
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Neha Asim, Director Academic and Planning, AIFD said, “This was our star class from the year of 2013. Though they are still students, all of them have managed to expose themselves locally. They have been receiving orders from the industry, and some even have solid jobs on their hands to become fresh players in this competitive field.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 9th, 2014.
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