My Shopping Cart at Loreal Paris Bridal Week 2013
Some of my earliest memories involve me accompanying my mom to the hair dressers. I remember sitting on a brown couch, the kind which squeaked every time you moved, either watching customers being transformed through various treatments and hairstyles or flipping through magazines pretending to be a grown up.
But truth be told, every time I went with mom to the salon, I was only ever hoping to see one thing…..A Bride! As a child the process of transforming an ordinary girl into a glittering and bedecked figure of beauty was beyond amazing…it was magical ! despite the over the top 80s make up and the overteased hair, it was still a sight to behold.
In Pakistan, as I imagine in many other countries, a bride is a figure of great fascination and the center of attention. She is the embodiment of all that is feminine and beautiful, a symbol of modesty and dignity. Every year from October to March (depending on when Moharrum is) every city in Pakistan glitters with the lights of thousands of Marriage ceremonies taking place in the grandest of venues to the smallest of streets. The bride of course is at the center of it all.
Perhaps this is the reason that designers, no matter how many times they dabble in the contemporary and pret genres, at some point they always come back or in some cases stick to doing decadent, intricate and glorious bridal couture.
This year Loreal organized the second Bridal Couture week in Lahore and I had the rare opportunity to see the best of Pakistani couturier exhibit their bridal masterpieces all under one roof.
While flipping through fashion magazines and waiting for my mum to get done with her hair, I would play a little game of what would I buy from what I see in the magazine if I had unlimited funds. I would go through page after page picking up items to load into my imaginary shopping cart. To this day that’s exactly how I view collections on the ramp…what would I buy right here right now if money was no object. In my opinion, isn’t that what clothes should be about? Shouldnt you just look at them say God I just have to have that!…Dont agree…Not technical enough for you.hey I’m sorry I’m just a consumer…what the hell would I know!
So coming back to bridal week, If I did have the proverbial bottom loss shopping cart accompanied with a limitless credit card which i would never have to pay back, the following would be what I would buy hot off the ramp!
Elan is always a favourite. Understated, intricate and elegant, Elan is the embodiment of the modern Pakistani woman. The finale outfit in my favourite colour pictured above took my breath away and is definitely what I could imagine myself wearing if I ever decide to take the plunge.
Newcomer Deena Rahman did a great job of combining modern cuts and silhouettes with traditional embroidery and materials like tissue. However I still think she has a long way to go in terms of finesse but she has the talent to get there. Fairly new to the business is designer Misha Lakhani who also put on a good show in exhibiting outfits that combined tradition and modern styles together. These outfits are probably what I would choose to wear to a cousin’s or close friends wedding…formal and traditional but still comfortable enough to boogie in.
You really can’t go wrong with the grand dames of Pakistani fashion Sana Safinaz. As always you can count on them to put together different materials, colours, textures and cuts together with complete ease and come up with something magnificent. if I had my way I would have bought the whole collection but as I was eager to fill my cart with outfits from a variety of designers I curtailed my impulses to choose just two!
The HSY presentation looked like a scene from a Mughal court, beautiful, grand and majestic! Similarly the finale at Ali Xeeshan’s show looked like a collection of exotic princesses from central asia. I particularly loved the mix of colours and work on his gorgeous lehngas paired with plain blouses. One of those and you’re sorted for any wedding!
As with every cake, or in this case I guess wedding cake would be more appropriate, it’s the icing that makes or breaks it. The icing in this case was the presentation by the House of Kamiar Rokhni. It’s rare to see a collection that isn’t at all similar to previous ones but still bears the designers signature. Now that’s more than just design, that’s artistry!
This line up is what I would love to wear to my best friends wedding. Every piece is the perfect blend of everything; contemporary, traditional, colour, style…..lets just say if you’re wearing any of these you will be in danger of stealing attention from the bride!
Now for the cherry on top, my most favourite outfit from the whole event, the one I don’t just want to imagine buying, the one I actually want to buy even though it will probably cost an arm and a leg!
To me this outfit combines everything I love about clothes. Firstly its white which is my favourite colour. Its elegant, its discreet, its trendy yet the intricate embroidery and fabric make it very traditional. Its fun yet has a quiet dignity in the sense that I could imagine myself boogie-ing to balam pichkari in it as well as being formal and refined. It’s also very versatile as I could imagine wearing it to my best friends wedding, my colleagues wedding, a neighbourhood wedding……Hell I’d wear it to my own wedding (if and when that happens)!!
So there you have it my round-up of the Loreal Paris Bridal Week. The best of the best from a very exciting but hectic 3 days; I wish I could have covered more work from more designers but hey there’s always next time. I hope my humble attempt gives all of you some great ideas for the next wedding you’re invited to.
For those of you who are reading this (designers, friends, philanthropists) if you have any wish to turn my imaginary shopping cart into a reality, please know that all assistance and donations are more than welcome 🙂
fabyummychic 