The Pakistan Fashion Design Council in collaboration with L’Oréal Paris presented the sixth PFDC L’Oréal Paris Week 2016 which officially commenced on Wednesday 28^th September 2016.

The first day of #PLBW16 was opened by HSY, followed by Sania Maskatiya, Bank Alfalah Rising Talent Show and showcases by Saira*Shakira and The House of Kamiar Rokni respectively as summarised below. Make-up for Day-1 of PFDC L’Oréal Paris Bridal Week 2016 was done by the creative team at N-Pro for womenswear and N-Gents for menswear

HSY

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

PFDC L’Oréal Paris Bridal Week 2016 Day-1 was opened by HSY.

Inspired by HSY’s vision of the different stages of a woman’s thought process, HSY showcased ‘The Kingdom’. The collection comprised of 4 different Kingdoms and capsules, each depicting a different stage of a women’s life.

The first Kingdom is titled ‘Kalajar’ which paid homage to a woman who is coming out in to World; the capsule is based in a deliberately monochromatic palette to illustrate her societal ties and responsibilities and indeed how society itself expects her to be and dress.

The second Kingdom is that of “Mahkar”, which means fragrance. It is a capsule which embraces a woman’s freedom to dream; hence the inspiration for this Kingdom comes from fragrances and flight of birds. The entire collection is made in beautiful printed fabrics designed and hand crafted by leading artisans in Como, Italy. This capsule uses hues of navy blue, depicting how a woman is shredding he monochromatic skin and moving toward color in her life.

The third Kingdom is that of “Khat-e-Sahil”, synonymous with the title; this stage depicts a woman’s journey where she is found on the shore of two Worlds. In this stage, a woman is found in her warrior, power elements; she is beautiful and bold, in sepia tones and fabrics such as jacquard woven in silk, handmade in Milan and Florence.

The fourth and final kingdom is “Sherastan”; the Woman is the Sher or the Queen; she is fierce, independent and dresses as lavishly as she desires. She is an element unto herself.

During this showcase, L’Oréal Paris also celebrated their latest ‘Ambassador of Fashion’ platform collaboration with Hassan Sheheryar Yasin for the ‘Excellence Reds’ Collection. This campaign brings to life the beauty and powerful personality of red hair. For the Excellence Reds campaign, HSY has played with a selective color palette using dark colors to provide contrast and accentuate the red fiery hair. The Excellence Red woman signifies strength, independence and ability to get around in the world with the perfect hair. Hair that sets her apart from the rest of the world by providing a statement and gives her the confidence she needs to make her dreams come true. The campaign featured L’Oréal Paris Pakistan spokesperson Mehreen Syed and award-winning model Hasnain Lehri with hair and makeup by N-Pro.

Leading television and film personalities Mawra and Urwa Hocane participated in HSY’s showcase as showstoppers.

Sania Maskatiya

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Following HSY, Sania Maskatiya showcased one of her most opulent collections to date, ‘august dream’. Featuring deluxe tones, sumptuous textures, regal motifs and lavish silhouettes; it takes you on a journey of roses, romance, castles and kings. Indeed the collection adorns every Sania Maskatiya woman’s most august dream.

“Our experience at PFDC L’Oréal Paris Bridal Week is always delightful and we look forward to showcasing an ‘august dream’ this year. The collection draws inspiration from traditional design and techniques for a modern day contemporary bride, envisioning ethereal elegance and sophistication staying true to the brands ethos through harmony of cuts with embellishments.” said Sania Maskatiya.

Male model Shahzad Noor participated in the designer’s showcase as a showstopper.

Bank Alfalah Rising Talent Show

The Bank Alfalah Rising Talent Show featured individual capsule presentations by 3 designers:

Aamina Naeem

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Aamina Naeem made her ramp debut at PFDC L’Oréal Paris Bridal Week 2016 as part of the Bank Alfalah Rising Talent segment with her collection titled ‘Bourgeois Mistress de Haute Naissance’. The collection takes its inspiration from an 18^th century mistress Madame Pompadour, and from prominent showbiz figure Madonna. The idea behind the collection is to bring to light the contrast between two women who existed in very different times. Madam Pompadour, who despite being a woman of rich character was restrained due to the conservative nature of society back in the 18^th century and Madonna who became a symbol for feminism due to her bold personality in the world post World War 2. This collection resurrects the character of Madam Pompadour as a woman in the 1950s. The amalgamation of exquisite gowns of Pompadour with sultry dresses of Marilyn has been merged with embellished surfaces to be molded into garments to enhance the beauty of hidden feminism in women. The collection consists of dresses with nipped waist and bustier inspired by corsets and skirts that have been achieved with the help of draping.  In order to bring the stark contrast to life, fabrics like satin silk and organza along with embellished lace surfaces, embroidered floral details for embellishment. The color palette utilizes mainly different tones of the color Pink since it was Madam Pompadour who introduced the trend of ‘Pompadour Pink’ in the French court. Silhouettes are X-line for all dresses, comprising of bustier along with draped ruffles, sheer jacket and elements of half cut bows. Belts have been used to enhance the waist along with full circle skirts pinched into pleats in one piece of fabric without adding a side seam.

Maryam Amjad

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Making her ramp debut at PFDC L’Oréal Paris Bridal Week 2016, Maryam Amjad showcased her capsule bridal collection titled ‘Medusa’ in the Bank Alfalah Rising Talent showcase. Inspired by the under-water serene life, the collection is further inspired by the jellyfish and its lifecycle. Using fabrics such as silk and organza, Amjad has used experimental cuts with layering done through fabric and embossed screen-printing. The colour palette comprises of turquoise, white and accents of grey with silhouettes inspired by the life cycle and evolution of a jellyfish.

Sara Naqvi

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Sara Naqvi made her ramp debut at PFDC L’Oréal Paris Bridal Week 2016 as part of the Bank Alfalah Rising Talent Segment with her collection titled ‘Sarkash Rajkumari’. The collection portrays Naqvi’s fascination with Pakistan’s culture, history and heritage specifically with the intricacy of workmanship of the Mughal Era. Through her collection she has aimed to tell a story much like various elements of the Mughal Era. Hence, her inspiration comes from Mughal hunting scenes, better known as Shikargah, as well as the architecture and motifs of the Mughlia times. In order to achieve the royal feel of the collection, rich base fabrics like Indian tissue, tissue net and organza have been used. In order to complete the traditional personality of the collection the color palette has been chosen between classics Golds, Reds and Maroons. The silhouettes of the collection that comprised of 5 outfits were mostly A-Line and flared in order to suit the general body type of women in Pakistan.

Saira Shakira

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Saira Shakira’s bridal collection for PFDC L’Oréal Paris Bridal Week 2016 is titled “Zohra”. For this collection, the designer duo derived inspiration primarily from Europe having used variety of fabrics such as tissues, organzas and tulle. The colour palette featured muted pastels with a hint of golds and reds, the collection will feature long, flowy and sleek cuts. The collection featured both womenswear and menswear pieces.

One of Pakistan’s leading music artist Hadiqa Kiani participated in the designer’s showcase as a celebrity showstopper.

The House of Kamiar Rokni

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The finale of Day-1 was presented by the design trio Kamiar Rokni, Tia Noon and Rehan Bashir of the coveted House of Kamiar Rokni. Titled ‘Heritage 2016’, the collection stayed true to The House of Kamiar Rokni’s love for craft, tradition and the timeless classic beauty associated with Pakistani wedding wear.

Heritage 2016 draws its inspiration from the traditional Pakistani wedding and the character and mood of the diverse events part of each wedding. Inspired by a sense of nostalgia drawn from the more vintage Pakistani weddings, The House of Kamiar Rokni reinterpreted traditional clothing and jewelry to present a collection that is timeless in its beauty. The collection is based in rich fabrics, from heavy velvets to rich, pure silks complemented by tissue, organza net as well as touches of brocade and jamavar. With craftsmanship engaging traditional zardozi, resham and gotta with accents of pearl and crystal, Heritage 2016 presented three distinct colour stories: from the very soft and pastel pinks, aquas, lemons, whites and blues to a medley of strong, sharp and bright colors in a nod to the House’s folk influences; moving at the end into solid jewel tones. The House further emphasised the dupatta this season as a versatile statement piece in itself. Indeed Heritage 2016 presented traditional silhouettes across a range of cuts to deliver a mood that is clean and unfussy.

Complementing the collection was a range of timeless jewellery created by Sonica Jewellers who have worked closely with The House of Kamiar Rokni to create the jewelry looks. Indeed Sonica Jewellers are also a multi-generational family business with a similar ethos to The House of Kamiar Rokni, with an emphasis on traditional techniques. Presenting the Mehr-un-Nisa Begum collection, it featueres hand crafted, delicately designed pieces and inspired by artisans of the Royal Mughal Courts. The collection included the renowned Aari Katai style pieces, a type of jewellery designed only by Sonica Jewellers, who is the only purely hand-made style of jewelry making, and is an art form that is passed down from Ustaad to Kaarigar, tracing as far back as the Mughal Era.