PLBW has become the latest buzz of the town ever since PFDC has announced the dates. The event is held at Lahore, Pakistan sponsored by Loreal Paris. The event officially commenced on 26th, September 2019, marking the ninth consecutive year of the bridal couture platform. PLBW has been working as the mainstay platform for the emerging talent and also boosting couturiers to offer a top-notch quality of work in their debut collection/collection. It’s the time of year when emerging designers of Pakistan showcase their bridal collection featuring some edgy cuts and latest trends. The day 1 fashion extravaganza was brought to you by Hussain Rehar, Zubia Zainab, Nida Azwer, Aquafina Rising Talent Showcase[Abbas Jamil, Elaha Ahmed, Mehak Yaqoob, and Urwah Ali], Saira Shakira.
The news at PLBW has it that, L’Oréal Paris, in collaboration with SFK Studios [Sadaf Fawad Khan], shall be auctioning off a bridal outfit by SFK Studios during #PLBW19, proceeds for which will be donated to ICARE, to support Beauty for a Better Life-a philanthropic educational program by L’Oréal Foundation which enables economic empowerment of women via grooming workshops and beauty training.
This week is not just a matter of few days/weeks the PFDC has worked over an entire decade to develop an infrastructure to professionalize the modeling industry of Pakistan. This has included the scouting, and training of an entire new industry of models. They have maintained a very safe and protective environment for models. This year PLBW2019 around 300 models were auditioned and the best are presented on ramp. Let’s just walk down and review DAY 1 at PLBW.
HUSSAIN REHAR
Day 1 at PLBW was opened by Hussain Rehar with the collection titled as ‘FATEH PUR’ referring to the amour proper of Punjab. Hussain Rehar’s vision involves the expression of culture, royalty and chic drama and that was visible in his bridal collection. The collection is a mix of rich dynamic hues in contrasts with bold silhouettes and layering of sheer fabric. The collection is all about Punjab in designer’s perspective. The collection has Punjabi motifs coming together with bold and uncommonly brilliant handcrafted work making it as rare as it could be yet dramatically impassioned. Rehar blended Fateh Pur’s captivative culture with modern fashion cuts featuring his vision with high fashion stability. The ramp was took over by many well-known models Iffat Omar showcased Hussain Rehar’s couture as a showstopper.
ZOBIA ZAINAB
Zobia Zainab showcased her debut bridal collection at PLBW2019. Her collection was titled as “DARE TO DREAM”. Zobia’s collection had a style that pushes boundaries of what is usually worn. The collection emphasizes on outfits that are both feminine and also carry an edgy twist. “Dare to Dream “pays an ode to empowered brides who are determined to fulfill any path they choose in life and are not bound to restrictions opposed by the society. She chose the very gorgeous Ushna Shah as a showstopper for her debut bridal collection.
NIDA AZWER
Nida showcased her bridal collection titled “Anarkali”. As the name says it all, the collection is inspired from the rich Mughal heritage of art and textiles. Anarkali takes us back to the Mughal era and their fashion enriched with luxurious styles with intricate designs made up of silk, velvet and brocades. The collection looks like the amalgamation of poetic and artistic craftsmanship. Needless to say Nida Azwer collection had some timeless pieces which caught our attention. She revived the old age techniques of cuts and fine embroideries made in zardozi, marori, gota/kinari, kamdani and mirror work with fine silk threads and velvet patches. Loose kalidars, angharkas and peshwases have been paired with magnificent farshi ghararas, lenghas, izars,and chooridaars that are complimented with richly worked dupattas and chaddars. Overall, the collection was beautiful but not something out of the box as per our expectations.
SAIRA SHAKIRA
The ever charming duo who never fails to set the ramp on fire with her out of the box ideas for her collection. The dresses stand out with a fusion of classic and edgy twists. Her minimalistic designs enriched with soft hues comprised of sparkling floral motifs. Their bridal couture collection was titled as “Kali -a bloom”. It shows the constant struggle of doing more, growing and becoming more mature with passage of time. As the latest trends are all about gota and floral designs, Saira Shakira latest collection revolves around the same concept for their bridal collection. The collection features ravishing couture pieces with intricate work of crystals, pearls, gota and delicate sequin art in hues of pastels with a contrast of bright colors to lift the palette. Hand embroidery designs were appliquéd on ensembles, presenting the techniques of chatta patti. The collection comprised of long gowns, Peshwas. Day 1 was actually owned by Saira Shakira and their utterly beautiful collection.
AQUAFINA RISING TALENT SHOWCASE
PFDC with continuation of bringing new talent and fresh faces to this industry give an opportunity to few emerging designers to showcase their collection at PLBW.
Abbas Jamil showcased his collection titled “The Dauphin of Versaille”. The collection was inspired by the interior of Versailles Palace and the glamorous lifestyle of last queen of France. The head gears,clothing style of Marie and the classical baroque interior of the palace were merged together to make the collection to which the detailing was given by adding Swarovski, pearls and crystals featuring the richness and delicacy of the collection.
Elaha Ahmed showcased her collection “Beauty in Ashes”. Inspired by the fictional character of Daenerys Targaryen from the fantasy drama series, ‘Game of Thrones’, the collection portrays “self-made woman who are feminine yet resilient;women wgo are stoppable and go beyond the barriers
placed in their way.”
Mehak Yaqoob's collection for PFDC L’OréalParis Bridal Week’s Rising Talent showcase which was entitles as,“Transmutation of Louis Trunk” was a fusion of structured Louis Vuitton’s trunks with the soft folds of Bister band. The collection displayed ablend of eastern and western culture. The transformation of soft folds was shown through the elements of belts and buckles.
Urwah Ali's collection was titled as ‘Masculine Femininity’. The collection highlighted the traits that
accompany womanhood, those of grace and delicacy along with strength and power. This collection was one perfect example as how woman can be sensitive and fierce at the same time.
Photography Credits: Faisal Farooqui and his team at DragonFly
