PLBW 2013 – Day 2 – Pakistan Fashion Design Council L’Oreal Bridal Fashion Week

Theatrics, Brilliance and triumphs of style over substance – PLBW Day 2

Ali Xeeshan ith his models and showstopper Humaima Malik

Day 2 of PLBW was perhaps the weakest day of fashion week with a mixed bag of collections. Misha Lakhani was by far the best although both Fahad Hussayn and Ali Xeeshan showed some great pieces and would both have fared better if they had chosen to show fewer pieces.

Nickie Nina’s fun garden party concept on the ramp

First up were Nickie Nina, who chose a fun early 20^th century garden party concept. The unusual choreography included models sitting at tea tables on the ramp watching the rest of the show.

This was one of Nickie Nina’s best outfits

Nickie Nina showed some attractive wearable outfits but somehow the collection simply didn’t gel.

Nickie Nina showed several red bridal joras that will sell well but which jarred with the concept

Outfits like this red bridal didn’t fit the concept very well and overall there was too little innovation fashion-wise.

Nickie Nina

However, there was plenty in the collection that will do well commercially and it was a solid collection from the duo.

Sadaf Malaterre’s butterfly embellished lenghs were a hit

Sadaf Malaterre on the other hand looked out of her element. Her funky flirty butterfly lenghas were a hit but on the whole her collection was not really bridal wear.

Sadaf Malaterre

Pakistanis like to dress up for weddings and this collection was too plain to qualify. Sadaf’s aesthetic sense is probably more suited to pret but the gold segment of her collection was unforgivably dull.

Fahad Hussayn’s opening sequence was inspired

Fahad Hussayn’s Great Mutiny collection had lots going for it. His opening sequence using off-white cottons was simply inspired.

Gold and Navy jora by Fahad Hussayn

As for the rest of the collection, Fahad’s muted palate, elegant silhouettes and delicate embroidery were excellent.

The printed scarves on the male models were an instant hit

The printed scarves wrapped around the male models were brilliant and instantly made it on to many fashionistas’ wish lists. Fahad’s comparatively restrained styling was a bonus – it was good to see him letting his clothes do the talking for a change.

Fahad Hussayn

However, the collection was simply too large and needed editing. The slow paced show went on for far too long and Fahad should have shown fewer outfits. There were many gorgeous outfits in the collection and these would have shone brighter if Fahad had dropped some of the weaker pieces.

Misha Lakhani – Bohemian heiress

>Misha Lakhani followed with a very strong collection entitled Bohemian heiress. It was bang on trend with sheer net and nude and taupe tones mixed with pops of colour.

Misha’s unique take on embroidery embodied intricacy and elegance.

Misha Lakhani

She’s one of the bright young designers who are redefining bridal wear and it’s great to see her develop her artistic vision further.

Misha Lakhani

Misha’s collection was hip, sophisticated and delicately gorgeous – one of the best shows of PLBW.

Sonia Azhar

Sonia Azhar meanwhile was among the weaker shows of fashion week. It was the perfect example of crazy styling failing to mask a flawed collection.

Sonia Azhar

It started with Cybil emerging from a big black cage on stage flanked by cowled male models and included wings, huge earings and headpieces on the models.

Sonia Azhar

The over-the-top styling made for some great photos but the actual designs were weak at best. Expectations are much higher at this level and Sonia’s collection simply wasn’t up to standard.

Ali Xeeshan showed flashes of brilliance

Ali Xeeshan brought day 2 to a close with a bang. His upbeat energetic music and showmanship brought the venue alive despite the fact that once again many FROWers hadn’t stayed on for the finale. The show was divided into several segments and unfortunately these were not equally convincing. The first section included some interesting brocade effects, a lovely jacket worn on a sari and bright lenghas. The final segment was similarly full of interest from a fashion point of view but the middle section was full of some run-of-the-mill bridal joras. The average beading and embroidery failed to shine and actually detracted from Ali Xeeshan’s more inventive work.

Humaima Malik was Ali Xeeshan’s showstopper

Ali Xeeshan is known for his theatrics and showmanship and while this fits in well with his larger-than-life sense of style, this finale was a little overdone. It needed toning down a little to allow viewers to process the fashion, which after all should have been the point of the show. If the middle segment had been curtailed it would have been a much better finale.

Fahad Hussayn

I’m not sure what criteria PFDC used for deciding the length of the shows but there was huge disparity between various designers both in terms of the number of outfits and with respect to the pace of the show. Some showed twenty pieces while others showed thirty. Choreography-wise, some designers had models race through while for others the outfits were on the ramp for much longer. I’m sure some of this was down to the designers themselves but greater consistency is fairer on both designers and those watching. In fact longer shows worked against designers like Fahad Hussayn and Ali Xeeshan who would have benefited from stronger editing.

Want to read more on Bridal Fashion week? Read about PLBW Day 1 here, catch up on PLBW Day 3 here. You can read the PLBW Round-up here.

You may also like this review of PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week where many of the same designers showed their pret.

Pictures courtesy Faisal Farooqui and his fabulous team at Dragonfly