The Pakistan Fashion Museum – the first of its kind in Pakistan – along with a fashion gala and exhibition – The Muse Gala – is to be launched at a UNESCO World heritage site (TBC) in Winter/Spring 2023-2024. This exciting double-venture was conceptualized and nurtured by Frieha Altaf, CEO of Catwalk Event Management & Productions; who has for over thirty years introduced a host of key events like the Lux Style Awards and Beyond Beautiful, that shaped and extended Pakistan’s fashion industry in new directions and received worldwide applause.
Now Altaf has invited two fellow Lux Style Award Lifetime Achievement in Fashion recipients to collaborate with her on this path-breaking attempt to recognise and reinvigorate Pakistani fashion.
Both are pioneering fashion icons – image consultant, stylist and entrepreneur Nabila and fashion editor and senior BBC broadcast journalist Fifi Haroon – who for more than three decades have lent their talents and expertise to the growth and excellence of Pakistan’s fashion industry – have joined hands and energies with Frieha Altaf to create the agenda and creative blueprint for the Pakistan Fashion Museum and execute the production of the Muse Gala.
These iconic women will bring their unique talents and experience in their respective fields to what is destined to become a prestigious international venue and annual event bringing the world to Pakistan and taking Pakistan to the world.
In a joint statement the triad of fashion trailblazers announced the exciting new ventures:
“For over three decades we have dedicated our lives to Pakistani Fashion nationally and internationally. At this point in our careers, we all feel Pakistan’s fashion has stagnated. It is time for us, who have both built and benefited from this industry to step up and take action and give it new aspirations. In order to create, excite and innovate, we want to bring The First Fashion Museum and annual Fashion Gala to Pakistan.”
The Muse Gala, an annual event will invite Pakistan’s preeminent fashion designers to collaborate with muses and celebrities to create flights of sartorial fancy. “We will curate themes that inspire and provoke both celebrities and designers to create anew. We want to make space for unmitigated, unfettered fashion fantasies.”
In the statement the trio also delivers a curtain-raiser for Pakistan’s first fashion museum which t a UNESCO world heritage site in a major city.“This is us paying back our debt to Pakistan and to the industry that has nurtured us. It is a record of our past and a toast to our future. We want to recognise the contributions of Pakistani designers and take Pakistani fashion to the world. Here’s to the next 75 years of Pakistani fashion, heritage and innovation!”
The first exhibition is slated to take place as part of The Muse Gala in Winter/Spring 2023-2024. at the UNESCO world heritage site (TBC). The themes of both the Muse Gala and the first exhibition will be announced with details at a later date.
The Pakistan Fashion Museum will be designed by leading architects and in consultation with experts in museum design. It will be a glorious tribute to Pakistan’s sartorial history, showcasing the iconic heritage of our style and designs created by Pakistan’s pre-eminent designers over the years. Seasonal themed exhibitions will enhance the permanent exhibition and serve as a space for thinking, seeing and learning about Pakistan.
The museum will also house Pakistan’s rich treasure trove of archival fashion photography, videos, editorial magazines and linked creative genres which will be curated to world standards. An advisory board of experts will bring their knowledge to this process.
The Pakistan Fashion Museum will also serve as a place for fashion students and creatives to learn and flourish and collaborate. It will nurture talent and exhibit the work of a thriving community of the best today as well as the fashion stars of the future.
The hope is that the Pakistan Fashion Museum will become a major cultural tourism site and highlight Pakistan’s creative heritage and image globally. The Muse Gala will offer an opportunity for designers to collaborate with prominent celebrities from the worlds of Fashion, Entertainment, Music, Sports, and Social Media to showcase the designers’ creations on the most exciting and dynamic Red Carpet event in Pakistan.
“We expect this to become the kind of event that international celebrities, buyers, influencers and media and industry professionals from all over the world, will seek to attend and whose participation will add to our industry’s global standing, increase national pride and enhance Pakistan’s image abroad.”
The gala event will include a musical performance and sit-down dinner and will be spotlighted on multiple platforms including TV, Print and Social Media. Catwalk Event Management & Productions is renowned for pioneering, conceptualising and orchestrating innovative and iconic events over the years and improving Pakistan’s global image.
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