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Here come the brides...
Wedding wear constitutes a huge portion of fashion's market
in Pakistan but despite its rapid and ongoing growth, this is one
market that has not crossed over into being experimental. Will bridals
ever evolve?
By
Zareen Rahman |
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After
a fatiguing long six months of summer, a majority of Lahoris welcome
the winters with open arms, embracing the jovial festivities that
come with it - be they parties, GT's, barbeques or winter balls.
But out of all these jubilant affairs a particular one remains incredibly
anticipated (for women especially) - a wedding.
Straight after Ramazan, avid shoppers take over the markets - like
armies of ants - in the search for that perfect Eid ensemble or
wedding outfit. Salons too, seem to be pocketing an extra portion
from their usual returns; servicing as many as 25 brides in the
waiting line, at many upscale beauty parlours. |
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Well-known
designers are also booked at least six months in advance - and normally
stop taking orders around mid-November to avoid the mayhem of overflowing
orders. So basically, the crux of it all is this: weddings are an
occasion to look good and to socialize - so this is one gathering
where people, Lahoris especially, are dressed-to-kill! The 'look'
of the season is decided early, during the preliminary months, where
one's personal style is oftentimes used to design the garb or to
modify it accordingly. Long trousers accompanied by long kurtas
and flowing jackets, or patiala shalwars with sexy, and snug kameez's,
short sleeves, long sleeves, three-quarter sleeves or just plain
sleeveless - anything goes really. Even the colour palette can be
played around with - and in Lahore, women happen to be pretty experimental
with colours and its coordination with the rest of the outfit.
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Interestingly,
the 'decided' look is usually almost always off the latest Bollywood
flick and comes from a plethora of juicy, coffee-table magazines
- full of contemporary bridal shoots.
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Having
said that, one actually wonders why many of us feel the need to take
inspiration from external sources. Do we not have our very own signature
sense of style? Do we simply lack the confidence to step up and reveal
our own creative streak? Here in Lahore - apart from off and on colour
experimentation - the urban populace has managed to stick to the exemplar
of 'playing it safe'. And the designers too, seem to have acquired
the same trend. Obviously when the demand is such, who's to blame?
Recently, upon attending a fashion show in Lahore (at the Pearl Continental),
sixteen leading designers from both Karachi and Lahore displayed their
bridal and formal collections. And each designer basically showcased
three of their best, topical pieces.
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The
show took off with Faiza Samee's exciting bridal line and ended
with the most individualistic collection of all - none other than
Nilofer Shahid's wearable art pieces! HSY, Hajra Hayat, Imbias,
Satrangi, Milli and Madiha, Nicki & Nina, Karma, Sonia Azher,
Rouge and Maria B - were a few other designers participating in
the mammoth fundraising fashion event. |
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After
viewing the collections which sashayed down the ramp (with a critical
eye) one found it incredibly difficult to distinguish one designer's
collection from the other; for the sole reason that the designers
failed to 'experiment' so that their work could be distinguished from
the rest.
It is blatantly evident that a bride's look has been similar since
the past, God knows how many years, and that no one - really, no one
- has been bold enough to revamp it…only because local designers
are afraid to step out of their comfort zones, and take calculated
risks.
Our local designers have not really been keen on altering the entire
bridal attire since they aren't completely certain of whether or not
their clientele would be ready to adapt to such a sudden transformation.
Here in Pakistan the designer-client relationship is slightly different
from the pattern followed by the rest of the world. |
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Around the globe, the designer 'educates' his customer on what would
actually look best on them – from the cut, the embellishment,
and the colours - the designer determines the overall appearance!
But locally, the tables are always turned, and the client dictates
their terms to the designer; beginning from the embellishments to
the desired cut, and overall 'look' of the outfit.
This leaves designers with a very minute scale of independence and
freedom of creativity to create a new design; hence the 'look' is
preserved. And fashion norms aren't shattered.
Coming back to the fashion show, where every designer's collection
maintained a certain look which was similar in relation to the colours,
embellishments and style, only one designer out of the entire sixteen
- managed to stick to her individuality and reflected character in
her clothing.
Niliofer Shahid's clothes truly stood out from the rest only because
they marked her unique sense of fashion and revealed exclusive and
intricate aesthetics. Her designs spoke of immense elegance and grandeur;
mixed with expertise gained over the long years of her successful
journey as a designer.
Shahid's collection stood out from the rest since her showcased ensembles
sported an individual signature that was not the typical mundane,
productions.
Elaborate patterns and chic cuts were amalgamated with long, ankle-length
gowns that gave the entire image a truly, majestic look.
It's extremely hard to predict fashion in a country like Pakistan,
where only a handful of people are ready to take chances in terms
of clothing and style.
People remain cautious of their surroundings, what's 'usually done',
the fashion norms and, in addition, are constantly bound by quite
dreary, self-made, fashion trends. It is time the norms are shattered,
and comfort zones left far, far behind.
– Photos by Rahat Dar |
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