The fashion desk lists the top 6 collections that made an impact on the runway season.
Ali Xeeshan
Ali Xeeshan is a name you hear on the red carpet more and more these days. What makes him so popular with the crowd? The way he mixes colours and fabric together.
He’s one of few designers we have who’ve never been bashful in playing with colours and adding life to bridals. And why not? It’s the wedding day! With dresses moulded in golden wires, neons, powder pink with silver and gold tilla and succha work was exactly what we were expecting of a glorious showcase to feature. Ijaazat was goaded by the movement of the storm in the desert and the beautiful transformation it creates in the surroundings. Deep red lehnga choli here, with gold and hint of orange there; green neon tops of edgy cuts with heavily embellished lehngas – oh how he made it work!
HSY
His dresses are shiny, uncomplicated, and easy to digest. That sums up Sheroo’s collection offering quite well. He showed multi-tiered lehngas, layered saris and ghararas in a rainbow of deep rooted shades, nearly all of them sparkly. What separated one from the next was the vertiginousness of a neckline, the presence or absence of sleeves, the length of a train, draping silhoettes, saris and the occasional cape. He included one mint green sari, but it looked like an afterthought amid all that pink, peach, yellow, red, rasin, sea weed and ocean blue. From men’s well-crafted eastern jackets to womens’ silhouettes, flowing like million dollar pieces, HSY knows his game way too well.
Faraz Manan
If the day ended with HSY’s shaadi wear sorcery, it started with a different kind of bridal magic. Faraz returned to Lahore after years and his models were colleen; His collection caterwauled perfectly structured pleating and draping in pastel tones with well-fitted layers and neat, intricate embroideries. The details of the clothes were so obsessively conceived and realised, they could have easily sunk the clothes. But Faraz has already won kudos for his touch, which has literally lifted the collection. The collection was a little one-dimensional, but these pieces will be pulled a lot by fashion editors, and some of the more circumspect looks, like the layered shirts, full skirts, trailing sleeves, full-length embellished suits, will attract shoppers.
Kamiar Rokni
Kami’s collection best exemplified the designers who are on ball with what they’re doing. The chatta patti lining, ruffles, off shoulder glitzy glam, flowing silhouettes, traditional pieces, suits that took the breath away, clarity, precision and lightness in the intricate embroideries handcrafted and interlaced with organza, chiffon and tissue– you name it, he showed it- enhanced the feminine appeal of the collection. Va Va Voom!
Saira Shakira
Saira Shakira is a specialist in the dramatic silhouette, and had clearly been doing their homework, because the brand recaptured that drama featuring heavily embroidered wedding formals and traditional silhouettes. Pleated saris, knee length skirts, traditional tunics and shalwars dominated the runway with gold and gota embellishments on handcrafted net, organza and tissue – spotting lavender a lot, the evidence of brilliance with creativity!
Nida Azwer
Her showcased collection was proof that she’s used her tenancy to hone her womenswear to a fine point. This was a strong, well-made, distinctive collection, commencing with a series of hugely appealing lehngas limbed with gold, gota, mirror-work and kamdani intricate embroideries. Long showed that she can do more than just knits and prets. Her sari pieces were knockouts, and the quilted capes that spoke all about Mughal cultural heritage were beautifully executed and a lot of fun. From metallic to block colours of elegance, onward and upward!
Faraz Manan, Nida Azwer, and Kamiar Rokni
