For Zer, Parishae Adnan of House of Parishae looked both within and without for what was keeping her up at night. Or so we assume: Zer is a serious collection. It is the darkest academia from the most secret chambers of the most elusive alchemist.

“The collection is about dealing with the damage of unremitting victimhood that creeps up in our day to day. It’s about nostalgia. About wanting to delve into the past and then being unable to shake the thought," says the artist's statement.

Zer is both bespoke and upcycled, as have been the design house's previous collections, and looks as well-constructed and cohesive as them too. The motifs are in essence drawn from Gothic architecture, and the framing of the designs acknowledges this inspiration.

The showcase is equally sensitively designed.

“The soundscape for this collection was designed very carefully keeping in mind multiple variables like tempo and tone but more importantly the feelings that needed to be evoked through textures of sound.

“I reached out to a very dear friend of mine, Mustafa Shiekh (Mufay), for the soundscape of the show because I knew I needed someone to go deep into the psychology behind the pieces we are showcasing. He started by looking at old school horror movie scores from movies like Psycho and The Shining. We went into the depth of sounds that evoke fear and dread, sounds that would make the audience a little uncomfortable. The purpose was to remind us that sometimes we can’t escape the reality of things, as much as we would like to.”