For years Fashion Pakistan Council (FPC) has been plagued by rumours of ego clashes and disorganisation. It certainly has lagged behind Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) in many respects. The recent fashion weeks were a case in point.
Apart from foreign buyers and journalists at the actual event, something FPW didn’t have, PFDC’s Sunsilk Fashion Week (PSFW) managed an even bigger coup. All the collections from PSFW, even those of newbies like Zonia Anwar, were added to the Vogue UK online galleries of SS2013 ready-to-wear. Layla Chatoor rubbed shoulders with Lanvin and Elan with Elie Saab.
What designer doesn’t want that sort of exposure? A lot of the pizzazz at PSFW was provided by Karachi-based designers. With former CEO of FPC Amir Adnan now joining PFDC, could this be the beginning of the end for FPC?
Certainly there is a case for combining the two councils given the miniscule size of Pakistan’s fashion industry. It’s certainly possible for designers to keep relations with both councils but it seems superfluous. It would be better if everyone put their energies into one combined council. If Sehr Saigol can manage strong personalities like HSY, surely the likes of Maheen Khan and Shamaeel Ansari can work with her. Amir Adnan’s experience at PFDC will be a good test case. We may have one politically, but fashion can do without a Karachi-Lahore divide.
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, May 16th, 2013.
Like Life & Style on Facebook for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.