Since the announcement of the Lux Style Awards 2015 nominations last month, we’ve heard the usual murmurings of biases, conspiracy theories and agendas that mark any award ceremony worth caring about - whether it’s the Oscars or the Filmfares. While its true that you can’t please everyone, especially given the scope of the awards - 24 categories celebrating excellence in fashion, film, music and television - and on the whole the nominations cover solid ground, we can’t help but notice some glaring omissions. Instep rounds up its top picks of those who we feel deserved a mention but failed to get one.

Fauzia Aman
Snubbed: Model of the Year(Female)

2014 was Fauzia’s year. She looked better than ever and was super prolific when it came to print and runway. She participated in all major fashion weeks, flaunting a wasp waist and ramrod walk, and was most designers’ first choice for fashion campaigns. Fauzia may not be the youngest or freshest face around but when it comes to models in Pakistan, one has resigned to their lack of height and youth. That said, Fauzia looked fabulous last year and it was shocking that she didn’t even get a nod of approval while Nadia Ali, Amna Ilyas (who was focused on her film career in 2014) and Nooray did.

Abbas Jaffrey
Snubbed: Model of the Year (Male)

Last year’s winner in the Best Male Model category, Abbas Jaffrey was surprisingly left out of the list of nominees this year around. While his presence on the ramp in the latter half of 2014 was limited, he was present at the Spring/ Summer showcases of both the Lahore and Karachi Fashion Weeks, as well as at Bridal Couture Week, in all his bearded, Greek-God glory. Plus, he smoldered at us from the Bareeze Man campaigns that were visible all through the year, in magazines as well as on billboards around the city; Abbas was also the face of Ahmed Bahm’s menswear line (which has received a nod in the Fashion Design category).

Also worth noting is his participation in the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Amsterdam in August 2014, where his unique look helped him make an impact and land international modelling gigs in London, Milan and New York. While Abbas may not have been as prolific as some of the other nominees in 2014, he is easily the most recognizable face in the world of male modelling in Pakistan and given his ability to always stand out, whether in a show or a shoot, he deserved a mention.

Sania Maskatiya

Snubbed: Best Fashion Design (Luxury Pret)

Great things happened for brand Sania Maskatiya in the year 2014, with the talented young designer establishing a stronghold within the fashion industry as someone whose strong aesthetic was matched by an equally sharp business acumen. From retail expansion in Pakistan as well as abroad to showing at Lakme India Fashion Week, Sania’s rise to the top was unstoppable. Her luxury pret collection for PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week collection titled "Kuamka" in April 2014 was one of the best at the showcase, and stood out for its
|edgy geometric prints, structured separates and fabulous tailoring. The collection’s
impact was such that we are still spotting it at the red carpet well into the second half
of 2015.

It’s surprising to us that the designer’s nomination arrived in the category of pret instead of luxury pret. While the label does do a range of pret wear, it’s a limited collection at best, not giving you the variety of choices that you would get when you walk into, say, a Sana Safinaz or Daaman or Gulabo store (the other nominees in the pret category). Sania’s forte lies firmly in the category of luxury pret, and is characterised by a unique design sensibility, a happy mix of quirky and glamorous. It’s an aesthetic that needs to be celebrated for giving traditional desi attire an extremely trendy update and the fact that the LSA jury failed to recognize this leaves us disappointed.

Shamaeel Ansari

Snubbed: Best Fashion Design (Pret)

Shamaeel Ansari continues to impress with her luxurious signature but 2014 was the year that the experienced designer finally branched out into pret wear with her collection "Tughra". And what a fabulous start it was. Drawing inspiration from Central Asian and Turkish art and architecture, the pret line diffused Shamaeel’s opulent aesthetic into a collection that was wearable, trendy and most importantly, affordable. Priced at under 10k, the Tughra line featured stand-out pieces imprinted with the unique Shamaeel signature and the designer made sure that they were available nationwide by holding a series of well-timed exhibitions throughout the year.

The collection flew off the racks and should have been recognized as one of best
of 2014.

Faysal Quraishi
Snubbed: Best TV Actor for Bashar Momin

Tragic hero or heroic villain, Bashar Momin left a lasting impression on audiences around the world. The TV serial itself may be questionable when it comes to merits of a play but there is no arguing the fact that the character of Bashar Momin was portrayed exceptionally well by Faysal Quraishi. Bashar Momin deserved to be up there in the spotlight but no, his name was skipped altogether and given the royal snub of the season.

Faysal Qureshi spoke to Instep in a recent interview: "This person on my TV show told me that he was making a documentary on the importance of acting studios in Pakistan for which he had traveled to different places, including India, to see how their studios work. And while he was in India, he went to Anupam Kher’s acting school where the students were being shown Bashar Momin. So given that the serial is being taught across the border, is a trendsetter in direction, lighting and visual techniques, which are now being copied by other Pakistani dramas, and has a huge fan following, it at least deserved some sort of recognition. Even if they didn’t want to nominate me, they should have at least nominated the writer, the director or the other members of the cast who performed brilliantly. Even if they weren’t going to award us in the end, the serial deserved nomination in at least one of the categories."

Shaan
Snubbed: Best Film Actor for 021

Shaan’s credentials as an actor cannot be questioned. He is the last man standing from the old school of Pakistani cinema and there’s a reason why he’s the first choice for big budget films like Waar, 021 and now Yalghaar: he lends films - which are nowadays bordering on TV-drama vibes - authentic cinema flair. His role in Operation 21 may not have been as meaty as his work usually is (we heard that his scenes went through unfortunate directors’ cuts) but his was an integral role. No one can say that Ayub Khosu didn’t deserve a nomination because he did but so did Shaan.

Critics dispute that his role was too inconsequential but then if you look at the nominations, you have four characters from Na Maloom Afraad on the list. And you have Urwa Hocane nominated for Best Film Actress; surely her blink and miss role did not leave a lasting impression on anyone! Why Shaan wasn’t nominated is anyone’s guess.

Mohib Mirza
Snubbed: Best Film Actor for Dukhtar

While Mohib Mirza may not have been the shining star of last year’s critically acclaimed Dukhtar, the popular television actor had solid screen presence in the road trip thriller as the knight in shining armour for Allah Rakhi (Saamiya Khan Mumtaz) and her daughter on the run to escape the latter’s impending marriage. In the absence of a ‘Supporting Actor’ category, Mohib deserved a nod in the main acting category, especially given that the entire cast of Na Maloon Afraad has been afforded a nomination, making the list seem highly skewed. Let’s be honest here: while Salman Shahid was great in his role as the menacing gangster in NMA, his was a supporting role at best. If he could land a nomination for Best Actor, Mohib should have received one as well, if only to make the category more balanced.