Style, business, charity at Karachi fashion week (Curtain Raiser)

KARACHI - Pakistan’s design fraternity is all set to take the country onto the international fashion week circuit with the second edition of PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week (PFDC-SFW) opening here Wednesday that aims at boosting job and business opportunities for the sector.

The four-day event, organised by the Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) and which will see as many as 24 designers showcasing their myriad collections on the runway is also an affirmation that fashion weeks will now be a staple in the country.

“It is a platform to map Pakistan on international fashion week circuits. This will be the second time the event is being held and there will be a complete synergy between three aspects of the business - the designers, the crafts people and the textile industry. All three have worked together in a planned, cohesive and sustained manner to add value to products,” Sehyr Saigol, chairperson of PFDC’s executive committee, told IANS.

After pulling off their successful debut event - PFDC-SFW in Lahore in February, the organisers are determined to make this event a success.

Through regular fashion weeks, we are working towards formalising the processes needed to help commercialise Pakistans fashion industry which were initiated in the previous events. Also this time, we will utilise the fashion platform to contribute towards the relief and rehabilitation of flood victims, Saigol added.

Towards this, “Fashion Gives Back” - the last show of the first day is dedicated to raising money for the flood victims of the village of Hisar Qilay in Pakistan’s northwest that PFDC has adopted.

Over 40 designers will participate in this show and give their own interpretations to the colour Black. And then these creations will be sold at a fund-raising exhibition at the Sheraton Hotel.

The designers who will be showcasing their collections on the ramp during the fashion week are Ali Xeeshan, Ammar Belal, Asifa and Nabeel, lan, Fahad Hussayn, Hassan Sheheryar Yasin of label HSY, Libas, Maria B, Muse, Nayna, Nickie Nina, Nida Azwer, Ranos Heirlooms, Republic, Saai by Sahar Atif, Sadaf Malaterre, Sobia Nazir, Sublime by Sara, Teejays, The House of Kamiar Rokni, Yousuf Bashir Qureshi of YBQ, Zara Shahjahan and emerging talents Akif and Mohsin.

Talking about their collaboration with PFDC, Ehsan Malik, chairman of Unilever Pakistan, said: Pakistans fashion industry is on the threshold of becoming a major player in contributing to the economy by way of increased employment and showing greater capacity to produce and process orders.

We are delighted to partner with the PFDC in their commitment and vision to nurture the best design talent in the country and showcase their work twice a year to a growing audience, he added.

Established in 2006, PFDC has over 55 designers as it’s members. According to Saigol, through fashion weeks, the PFDC endeavours to show the world that despite the unstable socio-political situation the country finds itself in, Pakistanis are continuing to nurture and promote their creative heritage.

Through PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week, we offer a platform which encourages the business of fashion, awareness of fashion, and infuses new and fresh talent into the industry, said Saigol.

(Shilpa Raina can be contacted at shilpa.r@ians.in)