June Issue 2012

Springtime in Islamabad saw designers gearing up for their Autumn/ Winter season at the second edition of the Islamabad Fashion Week Autumn/ Winter (IFWA /W) that took place in April 2012. The three-day fashion week, held at the Pakistan China Friendship Centre, showcased veteran designers like Munib Nawaz, Shayainne Malik and Umer Sayeed, new finds such as London-based Danish Wakeel and Jazib Qamar, as well aspiring designers who have just graduated from institutes, like Iqra University, GIFT University Gujranwala and Fashion Era, Lahore.

Five designers were featured each day and they showed a wide range of clothes from western cuts and eastern cuts to formal and semi-formal wear in sober and in vibrant colours with embellishments made of diamantes, lace and even fur. Sources of inspiration ranged from soldiers who lost their lives in the Siachen Glacier recently to exquisite embroideries done by women in Rahim Yar Khan to more avant-garde themes.

The choreography for all three days was done by Pomme Amina Gohar, an expert in her field, who added variety to the programme by coming up with innovative and imaginative ways for the models to display their wears. Particularly notable was the way a gaggle of 40 plus models paraded Umer Sayeed Al-Karam’s kaleidoscopic, coloured outfits in one dramatic entry.

The creative consultant for the Islamabad Fashion Week was stylist Tariq Amin, who was also in charge of hair and make-up; Zurain Imam coordinated the shows and the music was provided by DJ Aziz.

This article was originally published in the June issue of Newsline.