Fashion Week makes its way to Islamabad

Fashion Week comes to Islamabad in an attempt to promote clothing retailers and fashion designers. DESIGN: CREATIVE COMMON

KARACHI: After Karachi and Lahore, a four-day fashion week is now set to kick-start in Islamabad.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Chief Executive Arshad Siddiqui of the event organising company Triple E said, “Islamabad Fashion Week (IFW), that begins on January 27 and ends on January 30, will primarily be a trade related event through which we plan to promote the Pret industry of the country.”
Siddiqui further said that the previously held fashion weeks only gave the “fashion designers a platform to promote their designs but it’s the retailers who haven’t participated in any such event. Keeping this in mind, apart from fashion designers, retailers like Bareeze and Lawrencepur will also get a chance to project their designs [on the ramp].”
Large scale manufacturers are a critical organ to spur fashion forward since they have the capacity to meet both local and foreign production demands that then aid in the trickling down of fashion to the masses.  Fashion critics have been stressing for a while now that the fashion weeks need to rope in the larger mass-scale retailers to promote the business of fashion. IFW is expected to provide this much needed break for the retailers.
However, to make a marked success the retailers need a fashion angle that only  style gurus like Tariq Amin will provide for the shows. While Amin has joined the project as a consultant, Manoj Sawlani is responsible for the model coordination.
Sharing the details of his services for the project, Amin said, “For this event, I did a talent hunt show about two months back, selecting around 30 girls and 30 boys from Lahore and Islamabad. At this four-day event, big retail brands like Lawrencepur to the students of Iqra University, to designer Sanam Agha, to jewellery designer Shafaq Habib, will be showing their collections.”
Amin believes that IFW will be different from the conventional fashion shows, “What is Pret? It is very wearable. These clothes will be western, fusion [of sorts] and appeal to the western market.”
He further said, “The event is not a part of any fashion council of Pakistan. It is a prime event to attract the foreign buyers. It will be a day time event and it will not be open to the general public.”
For security reasons the venue is not disclosed yet, informed Siddiqui.
Siddiqui said, “It is not about promoting only the fashion industry in Pakistan but also boosting many other industries that are [indirectly] associated with it and need to get promoted. For instance, the textile, leather and modelling industry.”
Giving out the details, Sawlani said, “60 new models have been selected for the event, who will walk the ramp alongside 15 known faces belonging to the industry. We did a talent hunt and auditioned new people who wanted to become part of the industry. This is a new platform for them and they are now a part of a three-year contract, through which they will be able to show their talent at other upcoming fashion events.”
PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2011
The Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) and Sunsilk have announced the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2011 scheduled to be staged once again in Lahore. The executive committee of PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week has declared the dates for the four day event starting March 29. The event will feature over 25 designers including both aspiring and established designers.
The designers chosen will be selected on the basis of their design, prowess and most importantly, their ability to produce effectively for international retail. The PFDC and Sunsilk have been a collaborative step to show the world that despite the unstable socio-political situation, Pakistanis can and will continue to nurture and promote their creative heritage. The success of the first two seasons of the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week in 2010 has been an unprecedented mark that can be quantified by the presence and keen interest of local, regional and international fashion buyers accompanied with the immense appreciation and support of the local and international media.
The PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week March 2011 show will be produced by Frieha Altaf of Catwalk Productions and will be co-choreographed by Hassan Sheheryar Yasin and Frieha Altaf. Stay tuned for more information regarding participating designers and show timings.