Day 3 of FPW 6 saw shades of blue, shocking pink, tangy orange, black and white combinations, beiges and dark browns, some purple and a silver and gold finale.
An entire spectrum was represented on the ramp and the finale was a show to behold.
Ali Xeeshan
Ali Xeeshan Theater Studio presented the Jalal collection. Done up in quintessentially sub-continental shades of saffron and tangerine, he fearlessly combined two diverse wells of inspiration with this collection. Mixing Indian mystics with Asian monks and geishas, the collection was a delight for the well-trained sartorial eye. While this collection was significantly simpler than his usual extravagant bridal offerings, we’re not complaining. Combining kimono draping with robes and lehngas was a stroke of genius, but the standout piece on the runway was a structured, embroidered jacket with sharp, pointed shoulders, and high-waisted harem pants.
Nomi Ansari
Nomi Ansari. PHOTO: M HARIS USMANI AND AHSAN QURESHY
The ‘King of Colours’ took a break from all things bold and bright to explore an absence of colour, delving into gold, silver, black and white for his Gravity collection.
There were multiple metallic dresses, shimmering gold outfits and fish tail gowns, and quite a few balloons on the ramp too. The showcase felt unmistakably like a party in 3012, just not a very fashion forward one. The standout piece was a studded black peplum top over an elaborate lehnga, and Nomi brought the 80’s back with a bang with his short, frilled white wedding dress. While the collection was certainly appropriate for ending the night with pizzazz, it was ultimately a little too all over the place. Before the first model walked out onto the ramp, the collection was introduced as avant-garde, retro and futuristic, which sounded contradictory, but was appropriate to sum it up once the showcase was done.
Daaman
Daaman. PHOTO: M HARIS USMANI AND AHSAN QURESHY
Maleeha C Nasir has evolved over time with her label Daaman. Her Spring/Summer collection for 2014 was very modern, done up in tangy orange, cream and sunshine yellow colours. Models sported pointed heels, feminine gold belts, and flowers in their hair. With a wide array of prints, from florals to geometrics, each outfit looked like the answer to the unending question of the wearability factor of ramp collections.
Wardha Saleem
Wardha Saleem. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
Wardha Saleem’s Dasht-e-Gul was, quite literally, a desert flower blooming on the runway. Saleem is known for her penchant for brown, such as those of her Jhirki collection, and with this collection she translated earth tones into Spring/Summer appropriate hues. The collection boasted dark, broody floral prints and draping silhouettes, a solid break from the fun stuff that she did for Folk Play. This is one collection that can be worn well into Fall.
Kayseria
Kayseria. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
Kayseria’s love for the region of Kutch remained apparent with this collection. In an engaging display, the colourful region had its imprint all over the female models walking the ramp in chicly draped saris in traditionally casual fabrics. There was an unmistakable magic in the air during this showcase, supported by the magnificent soundtrack that was selected for the segment. With bare-footed models wearing silver jhomkas, tikkas and the traditional Thar white bangles, this was a line delving into the roots and the romance of the desert people — symbolic with an edgy twist — and was one of the highlights of the night.
Faraz Manan
Faraz Manan. PHOTO: M HARIS USMANI AND AHSAN QURESHY
Faraz Manan’s love for the royalty and the Nawabs of the sub-continent doesn’t end so easily. This time around, he toyed with the idea of taking these royal people to a more Mediterranean region. This resort wear collection was primarily formal evening wear, done up in pastel hues of peach, mint and ivory. With floral designs on silk and organza, overlayed with net fabric, and embellishments on the necklines and sleeves, the collection lacked a focus on the heritage and roots Manan so emphatically claims is his inspiration, nor did the fabric seem to be of the quality that one would expect from a royal resort collection.
Gul Ahmed
Gul Ahmed. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
Gul Ahmed’s Lamis, a digital print on silk collection, played with architectural designs inspired by Islamic art. Done up in shades of brown, blues and purple, and accessorised with ethnic jewellery including tikkas and earrings, it was a well-done showcase. The jumpsuits, over-coats and tunics, all done up in digital prints, were a delight to see. From ranking high on the wearability factor to the cuts and style, there was a lot on offer for someone willing to experiment with the label’s prints.
Tapulicious
Tapulicious. PHOTO: M HARIS USMANI AND AHSAN QURESHY
Tapu Javeri’s brand draws inspiration from ‘KaraChakara’ art for his bags. What he presented consisted of three distinct capsule collections, drawing inspiration from his aunt Marium Saidullah’s art work; with Kamiar Rokni showing Oriental-inspired prints, Mohsin Ali’s Mondrian style of color blocking ranging from floral landscape to geometrical designs and HSY’s black and white monochromatic vision of an animal kingdom.
The first two collections were a joy to see, with their vibrant shades of pink and orange, blue and purple doing the round. The last one, however, brought forward a dark and sombre mood on to the ramp.
Sadaf Malaterre for Toni&Guy Hair Meet Wardrobe
Sadaf Malaterre for Toni&Guy Hair Meet Wardrobe. PHOTO: M HARIS USMANI AND AHSAN QURESHY
Malaterre’s collection allowed the models to present a deep shade of shocking pink on the ramp, a refreshing change from the black that we saw on Day 1 and Day 2. Malaterre showed a capsule collection of long, flowy Western wear, styled casually. The hair was done by Saeeda Mandviwalla in a fashion in fish-tail braids and the showstopper was VJ Anoushey Ashraf for this segment.
Mahin Hussain 
Mahin Hussain. PHOTO: M HARIS USMANI AND AHSAN QURESHY
The accessories designer’s pieces were inspired by Parveen Shakir’s poetry, ranging from leather handbags to scarves and belts. The bold bags were Hussain’s statement about women empowerment and sisterhood, speaking in baby pink, red, blue and leaf-green. These leather and digital prints on canvas are definitely worth sporting. The beautiful digital print of a calligraph by Rabeya Jalil was crafted on to crepe fabric and canvas and the tag line “Listen Girl” made a loud statement on the ramp.
A slideshow of pictures from the event can be viewed here.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 23rd, 2014.
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