 |
| A magnificent setting for Fashion Supports Conservation |
Crowds gathered bright and early to snag A-list bargains. The organisers had put together a stellar line-up featuring Elan, Sania Maskatiya, Sana Safinaz, Sara Shahid, Ayesha Farook Hashwani and Shehla Chatoor among others. The list of participants read like a who’s who of Pakistani fashion including high-end designers, mid-level designers and high street brands.
 |
| Happy shoppers snag designer outfits at up to 70% off |
Each designer had been asked to contribute 5 outfits and the organizers said that the response was phenomenal.
“We were completely over-whelmed by people’s generosity. Some brands sent as many as 15 outfits. We received everything from daywear and semi-formals to full-fledged Shaadi-wear.”
 |
| Volunteers arrived bright and early to set up the event |
Although some contributors had obviously used the opportunity to off-load dead stock, many of the outfits were from recent collections. Luxury pret by Sania Maskatiya, Menahel & Mehreen and Shamsha Hashwani was particularly popular. Nomi Ansari and Sana Safinaz donated beautiful formal outfits while Elan’s pret was some of the first to go.
 |
| Bargain hunting |
High-street brands had donated T-shirts and kurtas and there were some brilliant bargains in the kidswear section including Mothercare T-shirts. T-shirt Swag had designed some T-shirts specifically for this Sindh Festival event. The kooky shirts featured the SindhFest logo, ajraks and even an ajrak moustache.
 |
| All set to go – racks and racks of designer clothes |
Apart from clothes, the event featured jewellery, accessories, furniture, home décor, spa vouchers and baked goods. Damas had donated a diamond pendant and gold chain while Solitaire contributed a polki cuff. There was furniture by Yoca and Khaadi Home, as well as cushions, mirrors and other home accessories.
 |
| Karachi’s fashion lovers flocked to the event |
The home décor section featured some of the hottest selling items such as art-inspired cushions by Cali, wonderful silverware by Carbon and even some original artwork by painters such as Usman Ali.
The food section was also very popular. Pane Amore, Fatemah Rawji, Marriot Bakery and others had put together a sumptuous spread of brownies, cupcakes, banana bread and other treats. Meanwhile Lals had set up a wonderful mini-café featuring quiches, scones, sandwiches and gelato.
 |
| Shehryar Taseer, Jawaid and Mahnaz Jooma |
This was a brilliant venue for an event of this nature. There was plenty of space to display everything and also enough room to introduce fun elements like a quirky photobooth. The stunning historic façade of the Mohatta Palace was the perfect backdrop for a sale raising funds to preserve Sindh heritage sites.
 |
| Visitors enjoyed the atmosphere at Mohatta Palace on a bright spring day |
The packed racks were a little chaotic since there were so many outfits from such a diverse range of designers. The outfits were initially colour-coded and arranged according to type. Even so, shoppers had to search for their favourite designers and bargain hunting was all about patience and luck. One of the shoppers, Marium commented,
“At first I thought that the clothes were an odd mish-mash but when I took the time to go through the racks properly I found some fantastic pieces. I bought a Body Focus pleated cotton top and a Nadia Ellahi digitally printed kurta as well as Shehla Chatoor clutch.”
 |
| Shehrbano Taseer and Bakhtawar Bhutto |
With designer goodies at up to 60% off, the sale was a major hit with Karachi’s fashion lovers. Towards the end of the day prices were slashed further and latecomers snapped up some truly unbelievable deals.
 |
| Umair Tabani and a guest |
This is the third time Taseer and Qureshi have put together this type of fashion charity sale. The first two were held in Lahore in 2010 and 2011 to raise funds for flood relief. Qureshi says,
“Fashion is one of the most successful industries in Pakistan and this sort of event is a great opportunity for the fashion fraternity to give back to the country.”
 |
| Getting into the spirit of SindhFest |
The event raised Rs2 million which will go to the Sindhu Heritage Fund, to be specifically earmarked for conservation projects at Mohenjodaro. Once the Board of Trustees approves a project, the organizers will inform all the donors exactly where the funds have been utilized. They did the same with the flood relief funds and this transparency is one of the reasons so many people are ready to donate to their events.
The fashion segment of the Sindh Festival continues later this week with a fashion show and a Fashion Museum showcase, which will feature work by a variety of designers and photographers.
First published in Karachista’s regular column for the Express Tribune on 12th February 2013
Typical burger crowd of Defence and Clifton in Karachi.
A favorite pastime of the rich and famous — being pretentious, smiling and taking photographs while attempting to help the poor and needy. Unbelievable.
good post .This was a amazing location for an event of this colthes…