Lahore, April 19 (IANS) While most of the aspiring designers across the globe end up getting inspired by the established ones, budding talents like Asrar Yaqoob, Hisham Malik, Najia Qazi and Nida Waqar are contributing to revolutionise the way women dress in Pakistan through their collections on the opening day of the eighth edition of PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week (PSFW) 2015.
The four designers showcased under Bank Alfalah Rising Talent Show, a concept to promote the country’s emerging design talent, at the fashion gala that started on Saturday here.
Yaqoob made his PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week debut with a collection titled “Camel Art”. The women’s wear collection drew inspiration from an art form known as Camel Art, a specific art form that is traditionally done on camel skin by the nomads of Cholistan.
The line featured lightweight flowy fabrics and drapes that provided breathing space with a lot of room for power dressing. The designer used vibrant printed linings to give a summery look to the pieces that was prominent from the smart cuts and patterns displayed on the designs.
The collection was based in a colour palette of camel skin, brown and multi-colour accents in luxe fabrics including cotton carandi, printed mareena, pure leather and laser cut fabric.
Malik took inspiration from the remarkable women who served as his muse for the “Zirah” collection. The designer drew references from the discussions with several accomplished professional women and put them all in designs.
“Specifically modern professional women are revising the definition of an able leader by embracing their femininity and exhibiting fortitude in a composed manner. These women lead multi-faceted yet harmonious lives, made possible through their ability to delve into intricacies while balancing summation of their many roles and identities and this is what my collection represents,” said the young talent.
There was a lot of usage of cotton net, kamaliya khaddar, dupioni silk, devore, raw silk, chiffon and embossed silk in a sublime colour palette comprising lake blue, crème, blush pink, silver grey and black. The focus was given to modern but relaxed tailoring and hence, the silhouette varied from kimono and Japanese-inspired shapes and sculptural draping with intricate embellishments including fabric loop applique, contemporary zardozi work and anchor thread shadow work.
Qazi’s women’s wear collection was titled “Sar Bakaf” and was inspired by the tale of the great saintly figure named Sarmad during Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s reign, depicted in famous Pakistani artist Sadequain’s painting.
According to the designer, the collection can be defined as rebellious with distorted elements blended well with a tailored look along with interesting details in sleeves, accomplished through the use of zippers and frayed hemlines.
There were skirts and pants paired up with boxy jackets and crop tops demonstrating drapes and asymmetrical cut lines in line with current seasonal trends.
The pieces in the collection were based on sheer organza and men’s wear suiting fabric that were embellished with drapes, egg shells, fabric paints and machine embroidery. Earthy hues, slate, charcoal, weed green with hints of burnt orange balanced with shades of white dominated the earthy tone.
Waqar, on the hand, showcased a women’s wear collection collection titled “Creatures and Curious Minds” at PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week 2015, that was inspired by the scientific illustrations of natural specimens in the thesaurus “Cabinet of Natural Curiosities” compiled by Dutch pharmacist and collector Albertus Seba.
The silhouettes were exaggerated, inspired by the anatomy of a few of Seba’s beautifully illustrated natural specimens.
Some of the significant features of the collection included asymmetrical jackets, deconstructed pleated collars, twisted sleeves and the jacket dress.
Layering was incorporated with separates being paired together to create the final look, prints combined with transparency to create the curiosity element in the garments and the collection as a whole. Some of the key trends that were shown through Waqar’s show were asymmetrical silhouettes, deconstructed tailoring and canary yellow hues.
(The writer’s trip is at the invitation of the Pakistan Fashion Design Council. Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in.)