Recently, the second edition of ESP Fashion Summit was held in Karachi called ‘Karachi Bling Special Edition’....
fashion summit
The fashion industry is one of the largest, most resource intensive industries. It is a powerful engine for global growth and development. Global Fashion Summit is the leading international forum for sustainability in fashion and is presented by Global Fashion Agenda. Convening major decision makers from across the world, the forum was first launched in 2009 as a COP15 side event and has become the nexus for agenda-setting discussions and presentations on the most critical environmental, social and ethical issues facing our industry and planet, all intended to spark urgent action and accelerate impact in the industry.
Following the lines of Global Fashion Summit, Huma Nasr, CEO and Creative Director of Shaan-e-Pakistan (SEP), launched SEP Fashion Summit in 2021 in a bid to bring together fashion stalwarts on one platform and to discuss the challenges faced by the fashion industry.
Recently, the second edition of ESP Fashion Summit was held in Karachi called ‘Karachi Bling Special Edition’. The main purpose of the event was to uplift the fashion industry and give direction to Pakistani textiles with meaningful dialogue.
The event saw the who’s who of the fashion and related industries in attendance with names like Rizwan Beyg, Shamaeel Ansari, Sonya Batla, Shehnaz Ismail, Irfan Pardesi, Seema Taher, Zahir Rahimtoola, Zhalay Sarhadi, Parishae Adnan, Tabesh Khoja, Sidra Iqbal, Amina Khan, Maliha Rehman, Neha Mashooqullah, Bismillah Pervez, Shanze Subzwari, Shaha Tariq, Humaira Ali, Somayeh Bardai, Samiya Asim, Tara Uzra Dawood and Zarmeena Ikram seen at the Red Carpet and on the discussion panels.
On the occasion, Huma Nasr, the founder, CEO, and Creative Director of Shaan-e-Pakistan spoke of her vision and her journey as a show director, highlighting her constant endeavours to promote fashion and music as she feels they go hand in hand and are great connectors, uniting people the world over. She mentioned that she plans to take SEP to an international level and hold another event in October. She also shared that she has opened the doors of SEP House for activities related to fashion and music as she wants to support local culture as much as possible.
Irfan Pardesi was invited as the first keynote speaker who spoke on Fashion and Technology. His insightful speech supported by facts and figures was an eye-opener for all present, and one could detect their motivation to take up the challenge of addressing the issues at hand. This was followed by the first panel discussion which was on Fashion and Textile Giants moderated by Sidra Iqbal and Irfan Pardesi, with eminent panelists Rizwan Beyg, Shamaeel Ansari, Sonya Batla, Shehnaz Ismail and Zahir Rahimtoola participating and giving invaluable suggestions.
Ahmed Chinoy (HI, SI,) director Stock Exchange addressed the audience next and showed appreciation of the government for Huma’s efforts to keep fashion alive and make it a thriving industry by presenting her with a Shield of Appreciation. The next keynote speaker was Seema Taher who encouraged the industry and especially the relatively new entrants in it, to do their bit in sustaining the industry. Diverse aspects of fashion focusing on all the various industries that fashion touches and are influenced by came up next, moderated by Maliha Rehman and with panelists Amina Khan, Neha Mashooqullah, Bismillah Pervez and Zhalay Sarhadi. The light-hearted discussion was on the various elements that affect fashionistas and vice versa.
A riveting Sufi Bling performance followed featuring Zarmeena Ikram and Inaya Kamal donning Eastern and Western wear by House of Braahti respectively. They made a grand entry on a live rendition by the mesmerizing Zaryab Sultan whose ode to cross-border collaboration represented by Nusrat Sahab and Rekha Bhardwaj was beautifully conceptualised and depicted by show director Huma Nasr. This was followed by keynote speaker, Nina Kashif, who made her address and spoke on the pros and cons of brands taking over the fashion world.
The special panel segment on Karachi Bling was up next, moderated by Tabesh Khoja with panellists Shanzay Sabzwari, Tara Uzra Dawood and Parishae Adnan. The session saw Tabesh receiving a bling gift box which was a special gift all the way from Oman. The last panel discussion was on Digital Fashion moderated by Shaha Tariq, with panelists, Humaira Ali, Somayeh Bardai and Irfan Pardesi focusing on online fashion. The enlightening and well-executed programme ended with a Vote of Thanks by Huma Nasr.
- You! desk
