KARACHI: As if taking a cue from the abundance of summer blossoms lining the ramp on the last day of the three-day bridal fashions extravaganza that is the Pantene Bridal Couture Week, a few prominent designers drew inspiration for their collections from nature.
Floral tapestries, orchids and radiant Jharoka print borders in silver and short gote ghraras that ended just above the knee featured in the collection that comprised French Chantilly lace, masuri and cotton nets in red, rust, navy blue and turquoise with shots of purple and grey.
Mifrah focused on Lucknowi culture with intricate and delicate hand embroideries featuring ganga jamni gota and tilla work with ivory sherwanis for menswear.
Yasir Mazhar of Bashar Momin fame along with Faisal Qureshi and Aijazz Aslam were the showstoppers in this segment.
Nauman Arfeen opened his segment with a barat comprising kids and went on to show mostly sherwanis in menswear with a few women’s wear pieces as well in new bridal hues of Kashmiri chai pink and ice green.
The doria kaam on sherwanis specially stood out as did the smart jackets worn by showstoppers Shamoon Abbassi, Moammer Rana, Farhan Ali Agha and Aijazz Aslam.
Tabassum Mughal’s Floral Tapestries/Embroidered Dreams ended Show One of Day Three on a high note. Inspired by nature and the royal courts of the 16th century, it had artistic interpretations of vases and urns with high, accentuated collars and technicolour fabric roses which perfectly set off the bling.
Overall the collection remained enigmatic and a cut above the rest when it comes to bridals in this part of the world. The designer made a success of her influences of a foreign culture by amalgamating the same in her design philosophy and fashion style sense.
After the break, Show Two opened with Deepak Perwani showing outfits structured with fabrics such as net, tulle, organza, digital screen, etc and designs based on the bygone Ottomn Empire, the Silk Route and the subcontinent.
Noor-i-Kuaar by Asifa & Nabeel highlighted artistry of the Mahal, with luxuriousness and elegance as its hallmark.
It was followed by a performance by film star Noor choreographed by Body Beat.
For the grand finale Hassan Sheheryar Yasin dazzled with Orchid in a captivating harmony of fuschia, purple and pink undertones. It derived inspiration from the concept of radiant bloom and served as a fitting conclusion to the premier bridal event of the season. The show choreography and direction on all the three days of Pantene Bridal Couture Week was by HSY with hair and make-up by Saba Ansari of Sabs Salon.