By now you’ve probably noticed that you no longer need five yards of fabric for a kameez. Hemlines have hiked up to knee-length, while panel-stitching and flares have gone out the window.
At first, you may have been reluctant to accept this fact, but we’re confident that after seeing designers like Safinaz Muneer (half of the Sana Safinaz dream team) and Sania Maskatiya in their no fuss straight cuts, you too will become converts. A few days ago, Safinaz was seen wearing a classy black-and-gold gota cut-work shirt with a pop of fresh turquoise that rested just above her knees with tapered pencil pants at the Kamal lawn preview by Zara Shahjahan. The original lawn designers switched to the sleek silhouette a while back and have disclosed that the cut will be a consistent theme in their RTW range at their prêt stores opening next month. Sania was spotted wearing a pretty pastel design from her wildly successful debut lawn collection event and endorsed the change in lengths as well. It will definitely prove to be a more comfortable change, given the heat wave that will hit us in the coming months.
We have always been open to the concept of leather pants in theory, however not as much in practical life. However, after seeing NFK Creative Director, Maha Burney and actor Syra Yousuf wear them at the Toni&Guy Hair Meet Wardrobe event held last week, we highly recommend them. Leather is often thought to be restricted to an edgy, fearless fashion sense. But in truth, when worn correctly, you can pull them off in an easy to wear, street style manner as well. While Syra tones down with a feminine day colour, casually knotted top, Maha understates with a simple loose fitting white Zara shirt, trendy colour block Nine West heels and a neon Zara bag for a young, fresh and ultra cool finish.
Designer Wardha Saleem who was seen cheerful at the INOA Hair Show in a fuchsia silk jumpsuit, shows us how to wear the playful knotted wrist scarf. The peek-a-boo with print is a great way to stand apart and still retain understated characteristics – we love it.
It’s one thing to talk about the latest trends and view them on the runway, but to see them being applied by real people that you can identify and associate with makes them a whole lot easier to swallow and simply more fun! This week we bring you celebrities who picked out their own outfits, rather than having their stylists do the job for them. Recently, we had the pleasure of attending quite a few exclusive lawn preview events and exciting product launches where we spotted some excellent trends that we’d like to share.
For the best casual meets elegant look, we voted for Ayesha Farook Hashwani. She was seen with her daughter at the Kamal Lawn by Zara Shahjahan launch wearing all black cropped pants with a long, deep purple Missoni cardigan and matching Hermes flats. She accessorised with a gold Chanel coin chain necklace, a gold watch and a black Birkin.
The asymmetric off-shoulder has been a popular choice for luxury formal evening wear. While Fauzia Aman and Ayesha Omar both opted for Shehla Chatoor Couture, Humaima Malik chose a shaded lavender one-shoulder ensemble by Khadijah Shah of Elan for a Samsung Galaxy event. We love the fusion between the draped sari-like pleats and the glamorous chic neckline that shows off their perfect sculpted figures. Ayesha enhanced her feminine look with signature metallic logo Shehla Chatoor necklace and cow hide clutch.
Commenting on the cocktail of trouser cuts observed on our outings, the quirky high-street designer Feeha Jamshed said: “Everything is in right now”. Indeed it is; we spotted everything from leather skinnys to floral pants to pleated silk harem pants on Maheen Karim from her signature collection. If you always wanted to try them, take a cue from Maheen’s effortless style. She pairs them with a tucked-in casual Zara top and a printed Satya Paul scarf. Printed wide-legged and straight cut pants were seen on actor-singer Ayesha Omar and model Cybil Chaudhry. While stylist Meher Najeeb posed in tapered gold brocade Top Shop trousers, stylists Tehmina Ali, Maha Burney, Hina Khalid of Natasha Salon were in white jeans and stylist Nabila was caught wearing floral prints – all were excellent examples of how-to-wear trends.
Then there are a few confident trendsetters like Feeha Jamshed, Mahira Khan and Frieha Altaf who can put together anything and end up looking great. Feeha is popular for putting together statement accessories from her mom’s brilliant collection and adding her own edgy touch for a completely original look every time. She did just that at the Toni&Guy Hair Meet Wardrobe Event last week. Freiha Altaf, who we love for taking risks with her fashion aesthetics, appeared at the same event in a Pucci graphic print dress and Michael Kors studded stack heels that are a raging current trend. Mahira Khan, who recently bagged the best actor award at HUM TV Awards, was spotted in an incredibly evolved avatar at Kiran Aman’s Kam Sukhan Photography book launch. She had on a beige chikankari sari with a burgundy full-sleeved blouse; we were struck by her mature and immensely graceful style. The gorgeous Humsafar star, often seen wearing FJ, is more subdued in her taste; but carries an equally strong signature style as that of her best friend Feeha Jamshed.
Now that you’ve seen these trends come to life, go try them on your own and remember to have fun!
Published in The Express Tribune, March 16th, 2013.
Like Life & Style on Facebook for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.