Frieha Altaf talks about the 3-day event that pushes the belief that beauty is more than just skin deep.
Pakistan’s first ever beauty expo promises to deliver more than just what the conventional meaning of beauty covers. The 3-day event is being organized by Frieha Altaf of Catwalk Productions, who tells Instep that the idea was borne of the realization that there aren’t enough beauty events in the country.
“I want to cover beauty, wellness and health but specifically keep it away from fashion because beauty brands get lost within the fashion realm,” she said, speaking to Instep. “When they sponsor fashion shows, they won’t get hair shows, or skincare segments as the event revolves around fashion designers and their vision,” she continued. “The beauty industry is a 165-billion-rupee one and it’s growing annually at 15%. It’s time we take notice of it.”
Frieha reveals that some of the multinationals Beyond Beautiful has on board are L’Oréal, Sunsilk, Ponds, Lakmé India, P&G, GSK, Conatural, Luscious, Nabila and Sabs from among local salons and Evergreen as possibly one of the only health centric restaurants in the city. The event will give these local beauty and personal care brands a chance to be interactive with the consumers of their products. It will also recognize and reward the people who are revolutionizing the ways in which beauty is perceived in society and start meaningful discussions on relevant topics.
Frieha and an advisory committee consisting of actors Aamina Sheikh and Adnan Malik, textile entrepreneurs Safinaz Muneer and Shamoon Sultan and dermatologist Dr Tasneem Nakhuda met earlier in the week to decide on awards for people who, in the past year, have displayed substance and purpose. One of the people whose contributions they plan to recognize is Khadija Rehman of Generation, who has pushed for different beauty ideals through her advertising over the past year.
“It’s all about going beyond the realm of what is considered beautiful,” she explained. The event will have 10-12 awards, of which two are for the talent hunt held earlier this week.” Frieha also shared that these are people who have a diverse set of talents; singing, dancing, hosting, acting. “They include three transgender models, a 30-year-old who wants to be an actor, a housewife who’s 34 and wants to be an actor,” she adds. Through this, they want to encourage people with talents to go into diverse fields.
Once the finalists were picked, they were all sent to N-Pro and NGents for a grooming and styling session. Each of them underwent grooming and styling for a photo-shoot that would be presented in front of the judges’ panel during the event, which included HSY, Saba Ansari and Frieha herself.
The finalists will be judged at the event, over the course of three days through multiple talent competitions.
The advisory committee also shortlisted panel discussion topics which included the role of masculinity in the 21st century and ‘toxic masculinity’, social media and the beauty ideals it is creating for millennials and how much beauty is too much beauty. The idea is to change the narrative and push for tolerance, kindness and inclusivity.
The 3-day event, held between 25-27 January in Karachi, is the first platform of its kind in Pakistan that aims to push the belief that beauty is more than just skin deep.
