The Karachi-based Fashion Pakistan Council recently hosted Fashion Pakistan Week Winter/Festive 2016. If you have an Instagram or Snapchat account chances are you caught more than glimpses of the shows that spanned three nights. The lineup boasted of twenty-one designers which included established names and upcoming ones in a mix of pret, luxury formals, bridal couture and menswear.

An overview of the event would deem it successful. The shows started reasonably on time, the crowd was smaller and better controlled and the front row actually featured buyers in the form of Label’s director, Zahir Rahimtoola and Dubai based curator, Faiza Rangoonwala. The front row also featured US Counsel General, Grace Shelton, Belinda Lewis, the British Deputy High Commissioner and Rainer Schmiedchen, the German Counsel General, who seemed to thoroughly enjoy the three day crash course in Pakistani couture, sitting through all the shows and avidly photographing his favourite ensembles.

Coming now to grittier details. The fashion week lineup, though extensive, was lackluster in parts with major Karachi based designers opting to sit out this edition. Sonya Battla, Body Focus Museum, Misha Lakhani, Sana Safinaz, Zaheer Abbas, Feeha Jamshed, Wardha Saleem, Sanam Chaudhry, Ayesha Farook Hashwani, Khaadi Khaas and many more credible names were missed on the runway and even though Shehla Chatoor, HSY, Amir Adnan, FnkAsia, Deepak Perwani and Nida Azwer took to the ramp, there was a sense that something was missing. But where the lineup missed out on the unadulterated allure that the big names bring there was plenty of star power on the ramp with most designers showcasing their finale pieces through celebrity showstoppers.

The tossed salad lineup itself proved to be problematic. As mentioned earlier, FPW W/F 2016 indiscriminately allowed different genres of fashion to converge simultaneously on one platform. On day one alone, it was disconcerting to start with menswear by Amir Adnan, slip into western luxury pret by Maheen Karim, devolve into what can only be described as costume designs by Sobia Nazir and then move on to a bridal collection by Mona Imran. The rest of the night and the lineup continued as such, all three days.

The fragmented direction was also reflected in the collections. Deepak and Fahad showcased an eastern inspired menswear collection but also featured Rabia Butt as a showstopper in a hideously constructed gold ball skirt (clearly these aren’t going anywhere and we should just make our peace it) that had nothing to do with any of the other ensembles that walked down the runway. Rozina Munib (whose saving grace was her collaboration with Mukhtara Mai, discussed later) started out with what appeared to be party-wear before featuring a full-fledged bridal on Mehreen Syed, who walked out on Beyonce’s Girls. The collection was nothing to write home about and displayed lack of cohesion or thought. Like a mixed bag of nuts, one never knew what was going to walk down the runway next and it didn’t inspire the good kind of anticipation, only ennui.

Furthermore, as if the lineup wasn’t diverse enough, in a baffling move the fashion council allowed an actual costume capsule to take the ramp. Title sponsors Urdu1, in a bid to promote their latest Turkish imported drama, Kosum Sultan, roped in two acclaimed couturiers and former council heads, Amir Adnan and Shamaeel Ansari, and instructed them to create a thesis display inspired by the royal costumes worn by the male and female leads in Kosem Sultan. It was insulting, at least for us, to see designers of their caliber pandering to crass commercialism of a platform that regularly laments that it is not taken seriously enough as a business. How can it be taken seriously if the council does not position it’s serious commitment to fashion?

We understand that title sponsors want as much mileage as possible out of the moolah they’re doling out but there has to be a line between what is creatively viable and what comes across as a thinly veiled advertisement. It’s bad enough to sit through obnoxious sponsor advertisements that are played on repeat for three days but to know that even the runway is no longer a medium of undiluted fashion is disheartening. There’s also no commercial value (other than for the channel, except we’re not sure who might’ve been convinced to see the serial after the costume capsule) in gimmicks like this for the designer or the platform; you’re wasting precious money, resources and time all the while bringing down the credibility of your own platform.

Another critique which we’ve aired regularly has to do with the regulatory body of the fashion councils. Note that this critique is aimed at both PFDC and FPC because it is an aspect that both bodies tend to overlook. If the job of the council is to vet collections before the show then why is it that we repeatedly see presentations of dubious aesthetics and even worse structure walking down the runway? If as critics we know that your can-can should never peek out from under a gown or skirt, how is it that this glaring construction faux-pass is ignored by the designer and the council? Why can’t the council edit pieces that don’t fit with the caliber of fashion that they’d like to promote or guide upcoming designers better in terms of silhouettes or putting together a show? It makes no sense to have names like Maheen Khan on the board and then to not have experts like her mentor others who are a part of it. In no stretch of imagination can we believe that someone of her caliber would approve collections such as those sent out by Mona Imran or Sobia Nazir.

We mentioned earlier that this edition of FPW featured a bevy of celebrities; it probably wouldn’t be amiss to say that this edition featured more celebrity showstoppers in three days than what we’ve ever seen at a fashion week before. The only exception would be the Bridal Couture Week (that features celebrity galore) but then the Hum TV platform is more of a television extravaganza than a dedicated effort, to begin with. Back to FPW, there was hardly a collection that didn’t lean on star power to make their show more memorable.

There are two things to take into consideration here. First, to have the showstopper being the most memorable part of a showcase is to diffuse and trivialize the collection, defeating the very purpose of showing it. Secondly, as much as a famous celebrity attracts gasps of delight and awe as they make their way down the ramp, if they’re not comfortable walking the runway then you’re doing yourself a disservice. Case in point: Aiza Khan for Deepak Perwani. Khan looked gorgeous walking down the runway but was clearly struggling to walk in her ensemble and also seemed daunted by the prospect of the walk itself. On the other hand, Aisha Khan and Ayesha Omar owned their walks, adding to showcases that featured them.

Nida Azwer sent crooner Ali Sethi out on the runway with a mike in hand and a medley of his songs serving as the background score. The fact that Sethi was clearly lip-syncing reduced his presence to that of a gambit when everyone knows he’s not; Sethi can sing live, beautifully. Wouldn’t it have made more sense to just have him sing acoustic, without the accompaniment of an orchestra, because we’d imagine that would be logistically impossible to pull off? We love drama and theatricality during the shows, as long as it’s adding something to the narrative and uplifts your collection instead of cheapening it.

We turn now to what was undoubtedly the highlight of all three days: Mukhtara Mai walking the ramp for Rozina Munib. Debutant designer Munib wanted to pay homage to women of substance and courage and claims that she wanted to do something more constructive than pay a celebrity to walk for her so she opted to have Mai represent the ethos of the brand. Munib’s collection, Zindagi ke Rang, was meant to be an ode to the strength of women and the soundtrack she chose for her collection was also meant to be affirmative and positive.

Munib’s collection wasn’t much to write about but to give credit where it is due, she managed to spark discourse about a taboo topic that is mostly discussed in hushed tones. By putting forward a gang rape survivor and positing her as someone to look up to for her tenacity and principled stand, Munib humanized Mukhtaran Mai and helped remove some of the stigma associated with her ordeal and survival. The showcase began with a video shot by Asad ul Haq in Miranwala (Mai’s hometown) and it was great to see fashion take up social causes and start a dialogue on issues that are close to women’s rights or feminism.

It would have been ideal had the collection itself was just as strong and cohesive in thought and purpose. However, those critiquing Munib for insensitivity – as she had models in sleeveless shirts and mid-riff baring outfits on the runway side by side with a rape survivor – clearly do not grasp the concept of rape. It has nothing to do with what a woman is wearing and everything to do with the mentality that subliminally blames a woman for violence against her because she chooses to exercise her agency. If anything, Mai stands for the empowerment of women, not their character assassination because their belly-button is visible.

To wrap it up, while we commend the council for their effort and dedication to the promotion of fashion and their consistency in putting out fashion weeks year after year we can’t help but give space to a utopian wish; imagine a united fashion council that hosts one edition in Lahore and another in Karachi, a consolidated platform that features the best talent that both cities have to offer and genuine mentorship for those who are just breaking into the industry. You may think we’re dreamers but we’re not the only ones. We hope someday the councils will join us and the fraternity will be one (thank you John Lennon).