Bridal Couture Week serenades enthusiasts

The biannual Bridal Couture Week known for being a tailor-made show for the Pakistani audience undoubtedly has grown into a parallel fashion week that triggers the latest in bridal trends. The recent Bridal Couture Week came to define the right niche of classical Pakistani bridals. Let’s get over the glitz and glamour spread of weddings.DAY -1Hassan Sheharyar Yasin opened Day One with a collection of pastels and darker tones, combined with western silhouettes featuring heavily detailed gold work on velvet capes and jackets.It was another fashion week, another spot on show by Nickie Nina. The “Neh Shikar” collection by the duo was Rajput Rule inspired, featuring the traditional zardozai and thread work on velvet, chiffon, organza and jamawar. The use of Balochi tankas was a standout while the traditional cuts enhanced the collection. Aisha Imran’s collection “Heritage” was an ode to the city hosting the fashion week — Lahore. The breathtaking fusion of modern work and art with heavily embellished ghagras and lehngas paired with short cholis with dabka, goti and pearl work was a spell binding one. Shazia Kiyani (wannabe housewife-turned-designer) meanwhile came back on the Telenor Bridal Couture Week with a collection not to look forward to. The use of pure fabric in earthly hues with mukesh, hand embroidery and crystals couldn’t spread the magic of creativity on the ramp. The need of fashion education was right there while as fashion goes, it was average. Ziggy menswear is as exciting when it comes to men’s wear exclusivity as Republic by Omer Farooq or Ahmed Bhalm, and very different. Their collection of intricate Persian inspired Sherwanis went down easy. What was on display was masterful and truly one of a kind. Now the challenge is for the man behind Ziggi to translate that tremendous vision into a rack. DAY-2Out of the designers who did the show on Day Two, it was Maria B and Rani Emaan who came out with the strongest statement. It was pure Pakistani traditional bridals translated in clothes that can be worn anywhere in the world and with that razzle dazzle so needed at a fashion week.Teena by Hina Butt tried to experiment with cuts and pairing quite unsuited for traditional bridals. Using lighter hues consisting of heavy necklines and floating gowns paired with off shoulder kameez, jacket and crop tops couldn’t turn the heads up except few noteworthy savvy silhouettes that went on ramp — like the one worn by her showstopper Uzma Khan — the yellow separates. With maroon, black and ivory on the palette, Humayun Alamgir was on ramp with an intense grooms wear collection. The “Shehnai” featured velvet sherwanis with gold work that didn’t show any groundbreaking trends but a sellable collection to do well commercially. Sobia Nazir made her ramp debut with the collection “Sar-I-Sang” inspired by the bolder look of today’s women featuring detailed heavy crystals, stones, pearls merged with thread work on pastel hues though her hero capes were not the right kind of cut for the bridals paired with a flat lehnga (so not voluminous) which turned out to be a total miss. Armeena Rana Khan walked the ramp for the designer in a fawn off shoulder top with a deep red lehnga which was overshadowed by the attitude and bubbly personality of the actress herself. The capital based designer  where fashion industry holds no importance, Rani Emaan is a really bright spark — perhaps, the biggest in the lot who doesn’t belong to the fashion cities of Karachi or Lahore. Her collection wowed us as they went on the runway. A mix of a love for Western fashion combining it with the desi lehngas make her a unique mix of exactly what a bridal fashion in Pakistan needs. The most breathtaking showcase for Day Two was of Maria B. one of the largest network of outlets in Pakistan. One must applaud her efforts for bringing a traditional bride on ramp fusing with the modern day girly girl of today. The edgy contemporary sari pants and the voluminous lehnga in blush pink on silvery base with floral embroidery stood out. The onscreen famous couple from the anticipated Hum TV’s Diyar-e-Dil, Maya Ali and Osman Khalid Butt walked the ramp for the designer along with the Humsafar OST’s fame QB. All the drama was in the clothes. DAY-3Day 3 featured Nilofer Shahid who is undoubtedly back with a bang after an extended hiatus. Her show opened by Pakistani/Bollywood actress Humaima Malik wearing ethereal sharara quite soon turned into a pleasant surprise of a clothing line featuring the glamorous bridals in earthly soft hues — some emerald green here and blues there. It won’t be erroneous if we call Asifa & Nabeel’s collection merely a try to resurrect the style. Flared pants although took the ramp with a storm but multi-paneled shirts paired with the former pants couldn’t just get along. The collection of the duo known for bridal wears in Pakistan was travelling back into the Mughal era with “tehzeeb”. The total put off collection of the finale was Lajwanti with an odd colour combination and hop scotch fusion of elements and overdone embroidery offering nothing new unlike Fahad Hussayn’s “Gulnar Manzil” opting for lighter and balanced colour hues and palette while stepping slightly out of his comfort zone of darker tones staying true to his dramatic aesthetics. With impeccable and intricate details, the different colours’ were perfect for the daring different wannabe bride — just as his dark plum. Fahad made use of his signature silk thread work on rich fabrics like organza, tissue, net and chiffons along with a metal thread work specially crafted for this capsule.Saher Atif’s collection featured fusion of pants paired with jackets and hemlines using layered net, organza, chiffon and kundun zari embellishment mixed with pearls and laces while at the same time Erum Khan’s “Dastoor-e-Ishq” was one to die for. Beautiful cuts enhanced the detailing of work in subtle gold thread on earthly hues and lounder tones in organza and chiffon, featuring ghagra cholis.