Diplomats walk the ramp for a noble cause

Islamabad
Fashion shows are crowd-pullers but when members of the diplomatic community get together to support a good cause and agree to walk the ramp, it’s even more interesting and makes the show special.
To this end, the show organised by the Rotary Club of Islamabad Renaissance (RCIR) to raise funds for its super project, ‘Paper Miracles’ (PM), served a dual purpose — it raised funds for a very deserving cause and it demonstrated that the people who live here for a temporary period willingly give back to the community for the hospitality they receive by support numerous causes. The show featured clothes by the well-known label of the capital, BNS by Bina Sultan, while the beautiful jewellery was created by the talented ‘Paper Miracles’ ladies.
After attendees were seated the show began with a few announcements and a graceful dance performance by ladies of the Japanese community living in Islamabad — they looked pretty in their white dresses, each with a different pastel coloured ‘dopatta’ (scarf). Portraying a good example of a fusion of cultures, they danced to the song ‘moray piya’ and won the hearts of the audience. Their act was followed by a documentary on the women who make the paper beads and this was followed with the entrance of the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Ambassador of Argentina, Rodolfo Martin-Saravia, who looked like a maharajah in his ‘sherwani’ and turban. He stood on stage with a serious expression as the audience cheered and many of his friends tried their best to make him give his characteristic smile but he kept his regal demeanour throughout!
Other diplomats who walked the ramp for the first section — dressed in wedding outfits by Bina Sultan and Ali Nawaz — were High Commissioner of Australia Peter Heyward and Susan Heyard; Ambassador of Hungary Istavan Szabo and Emilia Szabo, and Ambassador of Germany Cyril Nunn and Tina Nunn. ‘Singles’ who took part were Ambassador of Austria Brigitta Blaha, High Commissioner of Canada Heather Cruden, Ambassador of Denmark Jesper Moller Sorensen, Ambassador of Japan Hiroshi Inomata, Jasmina Makarevic (wife of the ambassador of Bosnia) Michelle Galopin (wife of the GM Serena Hotels), Businessman Ibrahim Qureshi, Amy from the US Embassy and Marie Louise from Holland. Making a special appearance, businessman and one of the sponsors, Jamal Ansari and his wife Uzma also walked gracefully down the catwalk. Needless to say all of them received a resounding round of applause.
The second and third sections featured glamorous as well as prêt outfits by BNS with other models on the catwalk — the final segment with draped toga like dresses in different jewel colours being the most eye-catching because the beautiful jewellery ‘showed up’ on the plain material.
Addressing the audience, Elli Takagaki, the person behind the creation of ‘Paper Miracles,’ thanked everyone for supporting the cause and said she had been decided to help the earthquake affected women after meeting them and hearing their stories, using her knowledge of a similar project in Uganda. “Displaced from their homes and forced into wheelchairs you would think their spirits would be broken, but these brave women have shown inspiring resilience and commitment, as well as a desire to rebuild their lives,” said Elli. “Regardless of experiencing trauma and going through so much pain, they continue to move forward with positive attitudes and an increased will to lead a normal life, which is a miracle in itself.”
RCIR founder member Imran Shauket, who also set up the Miracles Trust as part of his social entrepreneurship, thanked everyone who was involved in making the show a success, with special appreciation for the diplomats and designers who had given of their time for the cause.
That was not all — a pleasant surprise was in store for the audience as the ambassador of Japan, Hiroshi Inomata and Ashida-san gave a performance on traditional Japanese drums called ‘wadaiko,’ after which Ambassador Inomata joined his colleagues in the band “The Envoys,’ on percussion. This group of four diplomats has played at many fund raising events and they entertained us this evening as well.
All in all, in was an enjoyable event leaving us in a ‘feel good’ mood, while as a memento of the occasion we received a pretty PM keychain.