Riaz Haq writes this data-driven blog to provide information, express his opinions and make comments on many topics. Subjects include personal activities, education, South Asia, South Asian community, regional and international affairs and US politics to financial markets. For investors interested in South Asia, Riaz has another blog called South Asia Investor at http://www.southasiainvestor.com and a YouTube video channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkrIDyFbC9N9evXYb9cA_gQ
Pakistan fashion industry put on a great annual show under the banner of Fashion Pakistan Week with several designers showing off their Fall and Winter creations for 2014 over the last three days in Karachi. Here are a few glimpses of it:
Designers at the show included Maheen Khan, Sadaf Malaterre, Maheen Karim, Nida Azwer, Mohsin Ali, Faraz Mannan and Nauman Arfeen.
Growth in Pakistan fashion industry is inspiring many young Pakistanis, most recent among them is Umaima Mendhro, a home-schooled village girl from Sindh who founded a VC-funded fashion startup in San Francisco, CA.
Top fashion designers Maheen Khan, Deepak Perwani, Wardha Saleem, Obaid Shaikh, Sanam Chaudhri and others are showing their latest creations at the ongoing Pakistan Fashion Week in Karachi, Pakistan. It's being sponsored by Trade Development Authority of Pakistan. In addition to domestic and foreign media, there are also several international buyers from overseas chain stores attending the show.
The 3-day Telenor Fashion Pakistan Week 2015 (TFPW2015) ended in Karachi Thursday April 2, 2015. Designers presenting latest fashions at the show included HSY, Nida Azwer, Sadaf Malaterre and Sania Maskatiya, Zara Shahjahan, Deepak Perwani, Amir Adnan, Sanam Chaudhri, Yousuf Qureshi, Shameel Ansari and Somal Halepoto. Here are some of the latest fashions presented at the show:
Fashion Pakistan Council (FPC) is currently putting on a 3-day fashion week in Karachi. It is the sixth edition of Fashion Pakistan Week (FPW) showcasing Spring/Summer collections from 24 mainstream and upcoming designers.
Designers at the show include Maheen Khan, Shamaeel Ansari, Nomi Ansari, Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, Deepak Perwani, Fahad Hussayn, Faraz Manan, Amna Aqeel, Jafferjees, Gul Ahmad, Adnan Pardesy, Zainab Chottani, Tapu Javeri, Kamiar Rokni, Maheen Hussain, Nida Azwer, Ali Xeeshan and many more.
The world media are focusing on scores of deadly terrorist attacks in the last four weeks claiming over 300 innocent lives in Pakistani cities, and tracking the military's counterinsurgency campaign unfolding in South Waziristan. However, the Pakistani blogosphere is buzzing with the news and pictures of the Fashion Week in Karachi. A series of fashion shows ended Saturday in which 30 Pakistani designers presented their creations. Karachi's Marriott hotel was the scene of the glamorous event.
And there is a lot more that is happening in Pakistan.
In October, a painstakingly detailed production of Chekov's "The Seagull" had a successful run in Karachi.
Karachi's local actors put on a female version of The Odd Couple and the Abba musical Mamma Mia drew large crowds.
An art exhibit opened recently in Islamabad to portray the effects of recent events on Pakistani psyche. Using the snake skin as a symbol of ongoing terror in the country, artist Haleem Khan has used the metaphor of a venomous snake to portray the violence that confronts people. There were dozens of other events across the country, such as the 25th anniversary of a street theater group, a film festival for children, scores of music concerts, thousands of weddings and endless games of street cricket. Clearly, many Pakistanis are defying the campaign of intimidation unleashed by the Tehrik-e-Taleban Pakistan. Despite the failed political leadership and extremely poor governance, the country’s saving grace is arguably its people. As the consequences sink in among Pakistan’s secular elite of the rising Taliban, there are signs that the country’s educated middle class – in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, cities rocked recently by continuing terrorist attacks – is losing its patience with radicalism. The urban middle class has more clout than many analysts think. It constitutes the backbone of the army, the business and professional classes and the opinion makers in the media. And the middle class is getting serious about its responsibility. They have now compelled the government into taking more decisive action. There appears to be visible light at the end of the tunnel. Let's hope it's not an oncoming train.
Here are two video clips of Karachi Fashion Week 2009:
Mass media revolution and rising consumption in Pakistan have spawned an impressive fashion scene in the last decade. It has given birth to a young and thriving fashion industry and created unprecedented opportunities for beautiful young professional models who show off a range of fashion apparel, cosmetics, jewelry and accessories as well as other consumer products and services to a rapidly growing brand-conscious middle class.It has also opened up export opportunities for brand-name textile and leather products and cosmetics and jewelry from Pakistan.
Here are some of the popular models often seen on TV and in print ads and on runways at frequent fashion shows in Pakistan and overseas:
