FA S H I O N
ARTICLE
Pakistani Fashion
Disasters You Wouldn’t
Expect!
T
here is a fine line between bravery and stupidity –
a line that, unfortunately, we can no longer see in
our fashion industry – along with other important
things like; Clothes.There is a wise saying that,
“ONLY OPT FOR A FASHION THAT SUITS YOU.”
The Fashion industry of Pakistan has seemingly forgotten this basic rule; oh no wait! It’s actually the westinspired designers who, in their pursuit to copy western
artists, have ruined the true essence and purpose of
fashion in Pakistan.Few months back, the social media
went abuzz with image shots of this male model wearing
a SAREE, yes you read that right a SAREE!This time
around some unknown designers has managed to go
viral for all the wrong reasons. Clad in what can only be
called a sheer disaster, this man is making rounds on
social media with his ‘East meet West and Results in a
Disaster Look’. As a viral social media page so aptly put
it, the dress only says one thing:
“When you have jumma, nikkah and job interview on the
same day.”
Trust me; the feelings were mutually hurt and comments
were equally abusive as thousands of Pakistanis pondered over the shocking portrayal of something that
remotely resembled a roman priest, a hindu pundit or
worst, the famous ‘Indian Bahu’s Saree’.
Designing a SAREE for men seems more like an absurd
approach to represent a local gay style (assuming that
there is one).
A country’s fashion is supposed to be a symbolic representation of its culture, a reflection of its societal values
and an indication of its upcoming trends, but in Pakistan
it is a symbolic representation of idiocy combined with
westernization.There’s no point in promoting western
culture as your own, if our designers are so west-inspired
then they should think of settling abroad in a more competitive environment.There is no harm in being bold and
our agenda here is certainly not against skin exposure,
the point of this argument is the relevancy with one’s target market. Our fashion industry is touching zenith when
it comes to being bold, blatant and creative to the point
of being called stupid.
Can we say describe Pakistani masses as bold and blatant? Sadly not!
The audacity is not just limited to westernization; it has
even ruined our country’s most honored heritage including Sindhi Ajrak, a well-known symbol of pride and honor;
the honor was shredded into pieces when models walked
out on the ramp of Sindh Fashion Show 2014 wearing
the same Ajrak designed as skirts, hats and blazers and
shorts.While there are many in the very same industries
who have given us reasons to be proud of and have created distinctive global identity, yet there are many who
have just given us reasons to bash and criticize them.
Talking about bashing, Stoneage and Chinyere’s latest collections have by far beaten every other fashion
house when it comes to bizarre designs and irrelevant
fashion.All you need is a bit of common sense to make
a dress worth-wearing; maybe there’s one simple thing
that our designers keep forgetting, i.e. the requirement
and lifestyle of their target market.A few months back,
we did warn Stoneage of the impending disaster but it
seems our warnings went unheard. The brand, which
used to represent the genuine urban talent of Pakistan
doesn’t even remember that it’s actually clothes that are
up for showcase and not the skimpily covered bodies of
half-clothed people lying over each other. As mentioned
earlier, we’re hands down liberal, bold and strong supporters of modernization but Dear Stoneage, copying
Calvin Klein, Dolce&Gabbana and Armani’s campaign is
just a wretched fashion disaster. A relatively new name
in the industry, Chinyere too, is trying hard to cope up
with the competition and weirdness of the fashion industry in Pakistan. In an attempt to gain attention and do
something out of the box, the brand played a bad move
in the form of their latest Gulab Khan collection 2014.
Yes, we know our pathan brothers love to wear vibrant
colours but you didn’t have to make it obvious with a
bubble-pink kurta and multi-colored embroidered jacket.
To top it all, you named the collection ‘Gulaab Khan’.
You think it’s creative? Let me tell you, its plain derogative to turn a Gulab Khan into a Gulabo!When it comes
to fashion, the designs, the creativity and the concept of
a fashion designer are to be exposed and highlighted;
exposing models and their barely covered bodies, weird
hairdos and garish makeup just take the limelight away
from the actual product.A sincere advice to all unfortunate designers who sadly lacks common sense:‘if your
work is not good enough to be on the ramp then please
try harder, instead of using some patches of clothes to
define fashion. You’re only adding visual pollution to an
already polluted industry society.’
30 | BOOM