My Journey to Pakistan: Fashion Pakistan Week 3 - Day one

It was a full house tonight at Pearl Continental Hotel in Karachi as lead designers from the Pakistani fashion industry teamed up for Fashion Pakistan Week 3.

The event had the glamour of international fashion shows: good lights & sound,  nice ramp, vibrant people, young and mature designers.

Seven designers took the stage today and proved that Pakistan is an ever-growing country with powerful artists whose voices should be heard internationally and whose designs can compete in many markets.

Every designer had a strong personality transposed in the outfits and although the collections were very different from each other, there were some common points in the colors used: metallic colors (silver and gold), white and red.

The first one to take the ramp was Bunto Kazmi and the collection made me feel like I am at a king's palace and reminded me of the princesses storied I used to read when I was little: every piece was a work of art, every dress looked like a priceless jewel. The embroidery was fabulous, the colors ranged from red to purple, black with a touch of silver and gold that gave them an outstanding elegance.

 

Sanam Chaudhri was next on the ramp and she immediately caught the attention with her choice of colors: electrical orange, neon green and pink mixed with a little touch of white. The cuts were edgy, very modern, very westernized and daring. The collection screamed youth and I believe that many young and trendy people will be waiting in line to get a piece of it. Over-sized accessories completed the looks of this out of the box designer wear.

 

Sanam Agha presented a mixed collection for man and women. It was casual meets glamour with silkish velvetish touch, simple cuts, traditional, yet modern vibe. The designer played with jumpsuits in various cuts and color mixes from orange to read and imperial blue. The designs were vaporous  like a cool summer day.

First day continued with Ayesha F. Hashwani and what I called her "less is more" collection. I loved the asymmetrical cuts and the simplicity of the designs. But when I say simple, I don't mean boring! Every piece had a surprise element, a special embroidery that caught the eye of the viewer. Overall the collection was very modern, with just a little touch of traditional. The pieces seem specially designed for ladies who want to stand out from the crowd without leaving their mystery aura.

Continuing the show, Pinx brought a young collection on the ramp and played with colors like red, white, gold, emerald green and black. The outfits were embellished with lace and crystals. The collection started with a piece that reminded me of the jazzy ‘20s and then continued with more modern designs. Overall it was a nice ensemble (but missed the final touch) with prêt-à-porter pieces and evening gowns for the modern Venus.

Arsalan & Yasheer brought the show to a new level through their daring, modern and vibrant showcase of power. The collection was a beautiful mix of ice pastels and electric colors and it had a strong vibe of vacation and freedom. It made me think of the sea and a luxurious yacht party, followed by a night of clubbing.

 The evening ended in style with Ms. Maheen Khan and her fairytale, yet empowering collection. Starting with soft, delicate and breezy colors like white and beige, the collection then blossomed into dark red and black with perfect golden embroidery and revealed a more mature woman who is in control of her life.

I would have loved to see more attention payed to the details like shoes (what can I do, I am a shoesaholic) and hairstyle. Having almost the same models for all the collections made it difficult to give them a final and refined touch and for some pieces the shoes were a total mismatch.

All in all it was a great first day which showed that Pakistani fashion is an industry that should be taken seriously not only in its country of origin, but in every country which respects high quality and original ideas.

Catwalk Production & Event together with Catalyst PR & Marketing did a great job pulling together this first day of the fashion. If the next 3 days will be similar, we are in for a real treat.

Photo credits : 18% grey & Etihad Pakistan (via http://pakteahouse.net ) and Fashion Pakistan

My Journey to Pakistan: Fashion Pakistan Week - before the event

Today is the big day! Fashion Pakistan Week 3 is about to start in few hours and I am very excited! All week I read about Pakistani designers, I looked through their past collections, I visited some of their leading stores in Karachi and I am thrilled to discover artists who value traditions and who take these traditions to a new international level.

Mrs. Bunto Kazmi will kick off the FPW3 with the latest collection from Kazmi label, followed by Sanam Chaudhri, Sanam Agha, Ayesha Hashwani, Pinx (pinky), Arsalaan Yahseer. The evening will close with the Coco Channel of the East, legendary Ms. Maheen Khan.

Coming up with updates in few hours ;)

My Journey to Pakistan: Red Bull X-Fighters Jams in Karachi

I just found out an exciting news about another cool event that will take place soon: Red Bull X-Fighters Jams in Karachi. Catwalk Production & Event and Catalyst PR & Marketing managed to convince four impressive Red Bull Riders to come to Karachi for a must see show.

Martin Koren (CZ), Nick De Wit (ZA), Jimmy Verburgh (BE) and Nick Franklin (NZ) are the stars of this event. All are world class riders with impressive experience and championship titles and will be ready to pull off their stunts in Karachi!

Check out the show pulled of by Red Bull X-Fighters in Lima, Peru

The Red Bull X-Fighters Jams will take place on April 7^th (press conference on April 6^th). More details are yet to be released.

My Journey to Pakistan: Earth Hour in Karachi

Things are happening in Pakistan and they are no longer happening with a considerable delay compared to other countries. They are happening right now due to the dedication and hard work of a handful of young people who are doing their best to see their country grow.

Earth Hour was celebrated this year in Karachi through an event organized by Lets Build On (LBoN) and Green Volunteers. The event took place at Clifton Park Towers and attracted many people. Some of the people joined in without knowing what the event was about, but once they found out, they showed their support.

Candles were lighted, stories were told, pictures were taken, Geo TV showed up and, for one hour, no one there used electricity. In a country with over 170 million people, imagine what would happen if more people joined in! 

Although, courtesy of KESC, Karachi is celebrating Earth Hour almost every day now :)

My Journey to Pakistan: Pharmaceutical company comes to the neighborhood

I have to say that after two weeks of living in the neighborhood I am starting to get very familiar with everything and feel at home. Although I am very bad with orientation, I am now starting to get a picture of where I am and what is around me. 

I got accustomed to buying fresh vegetables early in the morning from the local farmers, getting chicken from near-by butcher, naan from the tandoor wala 2 minutes away from our house, having a go-to store or person for anything you need. 

On my birthday I payed another visit to the doctor, not to celebrate, but to get an anti-tetanus shot. (I am by far the master of home disaster). This time we went to the clinic that is just few minutes away  from our place and met the doctor that knows all the medical history of my husband's family. The office hours are till 10:30 in night. 

Two days later we found out that in the same clinic there is a medical crew from Getz Pharma offering free check-ups to people from the neighborhood as part of their campaign to raise awareness on diabetes and obesity. We decided to go and see what it is about.

I was happy to meet a very professional team of young doctors, good medical equipment and patience to explain to everyone over and over again the advantages of a healthy lifestyle.

I got my weight measured (and thank God my nutritionist back home will be happy with the results), my body composition analyzed, blood sugar and cholesterol checked.

I was the odd one there, but I didn't care much about that. The more I am starting to feel like home, the less I see people looking at me and I am enjoying this day by day.

My Journey to Pakistan: Fashion, Fashion and more Fashion

In Pakistan March is the month that all fashionistas wait for with huge interest as the top Pakistani designers present their new summer collections and set the trends in design and fabrics.

If you wish to escape from all of this, you can’t. You are trapped. I believe that the outdoor advertising market is enjoying this season as much as all the ladies out there looking for the latest trends. There are 2 predominant types of billboards that I’ve seen all around Karachi: one for political campaigns for parliamentary elections and the other for countless new collections coming up from new as well as from renowned designers.

In all honesty my knowledge about Pakistani fashion is reduced to few names and few trips to designer stores. I still remember a pair of fabulous trousers and a delightful kurtis that I’ve seen back in 2010 in a designer concept store in Zamzama.

This year I have the great opportunity of finding new things about Pakistani fashion as Fashion Pakistan Week is coming up organized by Catwalk Production & Event and handled by Catalyst PR & Marketing.

With a great experience in organizing impressive events, I am sure that Catwalk Production &Event and Catalyst PR & Marketing will bring glamour to a new level this year, as they have up to 30 designers confirmed for the 4 days event.

La crème de la crème (Bunto Kazmi, Sana Safinaz, Faiza Samee, KamiarRokni, Shamaeel Ansari, Maheen Khan and Deepak Perwan to name just few) and upcoming promising designers will take the stage and present their ideas in Fashion Pakistan Week and, hopefully, will prove to the whole world that Pakistan is not only a place of turmoil, but a place with great artistic potential, colorful dreams and fashionable people.

My Journey to Pakistan Part 10: The One Rupee Project

On Sunday, March 24^th, I had the privilege of meeting some great people and find out more about their commitment in making Pakistan a better place through a new project called The One Rupee Project.

It was presented as a project of the community for the community. Anyone can join in and lend a helping hand and through the power of the many, offer education to the people who can’t afford it and reach the goal of making everyone in Pakistan self-sustainable.

What I love most about this project is that anyone who wants to help can actually do it by joining the One Rupee Project. You don’t have to be rich, you only need to care. You can contribute with as little as you can afford (1 rupee is the equivalent of USD 1 cent), but for a country with over 170 million people, 1+1 could make millions. If one quarter of the population contributed with 1 rupee per day, that would make 42 million rupees per day and would pay for one full year of studies for thousands of Pakistanis. It may seem difficult, but it is not impossible. With the support from media and few corporations, this project can shape a new future for a country who needs it so desperately and who is struggling to make a change.

I will keep my eyes on the people behind the One Rupee Project (Abdul Hameed  Kath, Sarfaraz M Khan and Sarosh Waiz) as they have many other ideas worth fighting for and they have the energy and determination to see them come to life. 

Conclusions of the day

• There are people in this country who studied at the most prestigious universities from UK, US and elsewhere and who came back to help their homeland make a turn for a better future 
• People with normal jobs, businesses, families take time to think about the country’s welfare instead of sitting back and enjoying their own success