Fashion weeks give us a glimpse of new collections and trends. When it comes to bridal, L’Oreal Paris Bridal Week is one of the most anticipated fashion weeks of Pakistan. PFDC is the leader in promoting creative excellence and the business of fashion in Pakistan. Every year, PLBW forecasts and sets the beauty and fashion trends.

As always, the fashion week was a perfect blend of traditional ethnic designs, techniques and colours with modern tailoring and style. Top 20 designers showcased their new collections and fused to create the ‘look’ for the wedding season 2014-2015! The three day fashion affair was held in Faletti’s Hotel Lahore.

HSY kick started the week, taking us to the various bridal ensembles of different designers, the shows gave us magnanimous doses of creativity. From models, choreographers, makeup artists, fashion media, buyers and retailers, and varied fashion professionals, the event was the medium and networking platform for the ‘business of fashion’.

The décor black carpet was kept simple. This year, the black carpet was set outside of the longue so the place may not get crowded. In the lounge there were different stalls. The ramp was decorated with magnificent crystal chandeliers, flowers and the backdrop had 3D effect.

The line up of the participating designers was: HSY, Sania Maskatiya Ali Xeeshan Theatre Studio, Ammara Khan, Asifa & Nabeel, Fahad Hussayn, Karma, Misha Lakhani, Nickie Nina, Nida Azwer, Nomi Ansari, Saira Shakira, Sana Safinaz, Shamaeel Ansari and Zara Shahjahan in addition to the Bank Al-Falah Rising Talent Show comprising of 5 emerging bridal designers: Akif Mahmood, Mahgul, Seher Tareen, Sofia Chishti and Wardha Saleem. Nomi Designer made Mawara Hocane and Mehwish Hayyat, who are top actresses of the TV industry as his showstopper. HSY choreographed this mega event.

This year, the PFDC L’Oréal Paris team also took bridal hair and make-up trends to a whole new level where the bridal week make-up teams exhibited their interpretation of bridal hair and make-up trends for the season using L’Oréal Makeup Designer Paris products. Make-up for Day-1 was done by the creative team at Maram & Aabroo for womenswear and Khawar Riaz for menswear where as day 2 and 3 was done by the creative team at Nabila’s with male models styled by NGENTS. Front stage management was by Maheen Kardar Ali, official photography is done by Faisal Farooqui and the team at Dragonfly and all media management was done by Lotus Client Management & Public Relations. Following is a review of some best collections showcased in this fashion week.

HSY:

First act of day 1 was opened by HSY with his luxury bridal collection which was divided into two parts, Divine and Decadence.

The Divine collection reflects the shades of nature featuring aqueous shades with eastern cuts and silhouettes. The outfits had hand embroidery silks and jacquards embellishment with silver crystals where as the Decadence collection reflects western style bridal wear which was based in darker colour palettes like red, gold and black. The designer gave the feel of watching high fashion as mostly dresses have westerns cuts and style.

Sania Maskatiya:

With intricate floral patterns juxtaposed with geometrics, Sania signature aesthetic can be clearly seen in the collection. The fine collection titled ‘Ara-Ornaments, comprised of cotton nets, Indian nets, lamé, exclusive digital prints, with exquisite resham, zardozi, gota, and pearl. From saries to long gowns, printed shalwar to net dupattas and lehangas with full embellishments and beautiful cuts, every piece was stunning.

Asifa & Nabeel:

Inspired by the reel life and real life of Meena Kumari, the collection titled ‘Meena-Maniratna.’ Comprised of dabka, pearls, stones and chandi pati on pure chiffons, silk, organza and jamawars, the collection had modern interpretation of that traditional era. The collection was cohesive and had a lot of interesting pieces.

Saira Shakira

Saira Shakira showcased the collection titled ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The collection was the mixture of eastern and westerns cuts which seems to be experimental with delicate and sheer fabrics. Some designs were good and some were not so appealing. The designers need to work hard on some pieces.

The colour palette included midnight blues, pinks and mints for the precious fairies and plums purples and lilacs for royalty.

Karma Red:

Maheen Kardar Ali showcased ‘The Lotus Raj Collection’ which was comprised of five segments. ‘RajKumari was glamorous, flirty and fabulous; ‘Uns’ was magical and detail of flora, ‘Aatish’ inspired by ‘Thakuranis’, ‘Saj Dhaj’ was of traditions, colours and ‘Raj’ was embodied passion and obsession. The collection won the hearts of the audiences. The most notable thing in the collection was the traditional jumkas which were very striking. The collection has a variety of colours, cuts and designs. Every piece was pleasing and eye catchy. The brand’s showcase also featured children wearing customized pieces from the “The Lotus Raj Collection” who walked the ramp along with the industry’s leading runway models.

Shamaeel Ansari

Shamaeel Ansari gave her debut at PFDC with her ‘The wedding’ collection which was comprised the pieces for all wedding functions like mayun, mehendi, bari and nikkah. With a distinct colour palette, the collection was created in a beautiful way. The ensembles had been designed on rich silks, thread embroidered surfaces, antique vintage gold coiled work, recreation of embroideries and antique tankas in zardozi with thread work. The embellishments and cuts were speaking itself. We just love the variety of cuts. Anarkhas, kaftans, free flowing silhouettes structured jackets, silk loose top, pants and sari, the collection had a lot of things to offer.

Fahad Hussayn

Fahad Hussayn presented a bridal collection titled “Putlighar” which was creative and conception. He tired to present the models as the dolls of Thatta and Cholistan. Traditional zari work, 3D embellishment, thread work and vintage tone of tilla on printed bases had been used. Hussayn’s collection featured a wide spectrum of print museum couture editions hand embroidered with 3D cutouts, vintage tones and amalgamation of traditional craft with new age techniques and cuts to make beautiful, timeless and elegant pieces.

Zara Shahjahan:

Zara displayed her collection titled ‘A Folk Tale.’ It was an amalgamation of dramatic colours, oriental prints with heavy eastern embellishments and marked a significant departure from Zara Shahjahan’s past collections. The collection was cohesive with rich colour palette of Indus inspired shades featuring saffron, black, red, fuchsia, pink and more.

Ali Xeeshan

As expected, Ali Xeeshan presented his collection in a fantastic way with little bit drama. No doubt his collections are always up to mark and rock the ramp; Ali always showcases something extra ordinary. The collection titled ‘Baghawat’ was inspired by a mix of the Ancient Roman civilization, warriors and the idea of defiance. The collection brought a fresh twist to traditional techniques. The ensembles were embellished in a vast array of motifs reminiscent of the Ancient Roman culture and were based in a vibrant spectrum of shades and hues. True to his name, the collection includes his signature textured fabrics and gotta work.

Nomi Ansari:

Nomi Ansari showcased his collection with the title ‘Gul’ which was superb. His is truly at the top of the game. We just love the colour pallets, embellishments and cuts. Working in ode to the vintage era, Nomi showcased our rich cultural heritage. The collection has rare embroidery techniques and packaged in a vibrant, colourful fashion – an aesthetic that has come to define the label.

Nida Azwer:

Her collection named ‘The Ghalib’ brought out the true aesthetics of the designer. With the clean finishes and embellishments, the collection stood out. The colour pallet varied from of blue to, navy blue, teal, grey and shades of light pink on fabrics such as silk, net, lame, tissue and brocade. The collection had short shirts, jackets, saris and farshi ghararas with exquisite resham embroidered chadders, shawls and stoles.

Nicki Nina:

This year expectations were high from the duo and they presented a wonderful collection which was inspired by queens and princesses of the Mughal era. The collection titled ‘Rumi to Raj.’ The collection was based on jamawars, lux French lace and plush organza with a combination of karchob, zarkozi along with a dash of Swarovski crystals. The dresses projected the opulence and grandeur of the Mughal era with a colour palette comprising of beiges, nudes and off whites. The designer duo showcased a flawless collection this year.