It’s time to get set for the upcoming wedding season as one of the most anticipated bridal fashion weeks in Pakistan is just around the corner. Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) has just announced the line-up for the fourth PFDC L’Oréal Bridal Week (PLBW), which is scheduled to take place in Lahore from September 30 to October 2, 2014.
The programme includes Pakistani bridal fashion heavyweights Hassan Sheheryar Yasin (HSY), Sana Safinaz, Sania Maskatiya and Misha Lakhani, but there is plenty of new blood as well. Saira Faisal and Shakira Usman showcased their label Saira Shakira at PDFC Sunsilk Fashion Week this year, but this is the first time the designer duo will be putting up a bridal collection on the ramp. The PLBW will mark the fashion debut of designer Ammara Khan. Bridal-week newcomers such as Seher Tareen and Sofia Chishti have been offered spots in the ‘Emerging Talent’ showcase.
It’s disappointing to see Mahgul Rashid showing a capsule collection once again in the ‘Emerging Talent’ section. While she is exhibiting her designs at bridal week for the first time, she has established enough of a footing for us to expect a full show from her.
This PLBW looks like a great mix of old and new, featuring big names from both Karachi and Lahore, but there are some notable exceptions. Élan is missing from the PFDC line-up for the first time ever, which leaves the fashion week significantly poor. Khadijah Shah’s opulent, ethereal collections are always a highlight of PLBW and will be missed. But Élan is not the only major absentee; Kamiar Rokni, who wowed with his Oriental collection last year, is not showcasing his collection this time around either.
Trends to watch out for include jackets, cholis, farshi ghararas and gowns. Expect lots of net, lace and velvet. Watch out for western-styled pieces from HSY and a shift to more eclectic collections from designers such as Sana Safinaz and Zara Shahjahan. The catchword of bridal week is set to be ‘separates’, a trend defined by Sania Maskatiya and Misha Lakhani.
Check out the full line-up and inspiration behind each collection
Misha Lakhani
Collection: Nowruz
Inspiration: Old-fashioned romance and the idea of paradise replete with blooming floral clusters, fireworks, birds and bugs
Zara Shahjahan
Collection: A Folk Tale
Inspiration: Folk culture and a hybrid of different cultures
Karma
Collection: The Lotus Raj Collection
Inspiration: The essence of love in the subcontinent; flowers, iconic romantic cities and more
Sana Safinaz
Collection: ‘We never name our collections’
Inspiration: Folk-orientated embroidery, shawls
Nida Azwer
Collection: The Ghalib collection
Inspiration: From the time of Mirza Ghalib
Asifa and Nabeel
Collection: Meena-Maniratna
Inspiration: The reel and real life of Meena Kumari
HSY
Collection: Divine Decadence
Inspiration: Contradictions in society, the designer’s travels and his reflection on 20 years in the industry
Nickie Nina
Collection: Rumi to Raj
Inspiration: Mughal era queens and princesses
Fahad Hussayn
Collection: Putli Ghar
Inspiration: Royal ruins and remains in Cholistan and Thatta, dolls from the region and glimpses of the Ranjeet Singh era
Sania Maskatiya
Collection: Ara-Ornament
Inspiration: The art of ornamentation used over the centuries
Saira Shakira
Collection: A midsummer night’s dream
Inspiration: William Shakespeare’s play
Shamaeel Ansari
Collection: The wedding
Inspiration: Pakistani weddings in all their avatars
Ali Xeeshan
Collection: Baghawat (stand for yourself)
Inspiration: Ancient Roman civilisation and barbarian warriors
Ammara Khan
Collection: The Winter Palace: A Celebration of the Russian Tsarina
Inspiration: The opulent lifestyle of the Russian royalty
Nomi Ansari
Collection: Gul
Inspiration: Flowers with a contemporary vintage theme
The ‘Rising Talent’ section
Mahgul
Collection: The Wild Rose
Inspiration: Wild roses and how they reflect modern femininity
Sehar Tareen
Collection: The Emperor’s Assassins
Inspiration: Chinese cult film Hero directed by Zhang Yimou
Sofia Chishti
Collection: Tilism (magic)
Inspiration: Wardrobes of royals of the east and west and their fusion
Wardha Saleem
Collection: Madhubani
Inspiration: Madhubani paintings of Bihar, India
Akif Mahmood
Collection: Virsa
Inspiration: Imaginary queen from the subcontinent, who is influenced by the region’s different ruling families, such as the Rajputs and Mughals
Pictures for the story are from PLBW 2013
Published in The Express Tribune, September 25th, 2014.
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