LONDON: Pakistan’s designer brigade is all set to take centre stage at Kensington Palace, the home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, in a unique show that presents the country’s fashion as never before.
Pakistani designers Faiza Samee, Ayesha Hashwani, Nomi Ansari, Zara Shahjahan, Seher Tareen and Nazneen Tariq will be showcasing their respective collections at the event. They will be displaying couture collections with a strong fusion element. Brimming with talent, this interesting mix of upcoming and senior designers will be proving their mettle on a global platform.
“Fashion Parade came about because we wanted an international platform to showcase Pakistani designers. Everything has been carefully chosen to conform to the highest standards including the stunning venue, models, styling and music. This is fashion without compromise,” explains Sadia Siddiqui, founder of Fashion Parade and CEO of Mustang Productions. She was particularly eager to bring the best of Pakistani fashion to the attention of a wider audience, particularly the mainstream media and prominent South Asians in London.
Nazneen Tariq, Ayesha Hashwani and Seher Tareen
Siddiqui feels that there has been a lack of prestigious events for Pakistani designers to showcase their collections. While many British South Asians have tracked down Pakistani designers by word of mouth, the rest of the community has had limited access to the best of the fashion in Pakistan. She says, “Fashion Parade is a fashion platform that can appropriately present our designers to the mainstream fashion media as well as introduce Pakistani fashion to a wider range of British South Asians.”
Kensington Palace, Siddiqui explains, was chosen not only because it is a prestigious location, but also because it is the former home of Diana, Princess of Wales — one of the first international style icons to wear clothes by a Pakistani designer, Rizwan Beyg.
Fashion Parade 2014 incorporates a charity raffle and is being held in aid of Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. It will bring together the British Indian and Pakistani communities together in a celebration of fashion. Along with fashion journalists, the British Fashion Council Head of Event Josef Jammerbund will also be in attendance to see Pakistani fashion being showcased on the ramp.
The event also includes presentations by British fashion designer Romero Bryan and renowned multi-brand boutique Aashni and Co, which will be showcasing the works of designer Anamika Khanna. The event will take place on June 9 in London.
Oxford-grad Salima Feerasta is a social commentator and lover of style in any form or fashion. She blogs at karachista.blogspot.com and tweets @karachista
Published in The Express Tribune, June 10th, 2014.
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