20 Mar 2012

My Fav from Fashion Week Par'eeee: Balmain Fall 2012

Balmain is my all time favourite!! Balmain silhouettes are to die for - undoubtedly they were my favourite for FPW. Here are some of my favourite looks:
Never ever fail to disappoint. Now to get my hands on a piece *wishes*

These remind me of my Sass and Bide embellished tights (pics to follow)
I love this model, isn't she gorgeous? Jasmine Tookes.

Images from style.com

18 Mar 2012

Another Lawn Post: The Sana Safinaz S/S'12 Campaign

Recently there has been a lot of controversy around the Sana Safinaz S/S'12 campaign, in which a fashion campaign has turned into a political statement offending many Pakistani's and has been termed 'insensitive' due to the poor coolies in the background carrying the designer bags in contrast with the perfectly manicured model wearing lawn. I personally find that from a marketing point of view this was an extremely clever campaign, it has generated a lot of word of mouth, and created a lot of 'talk' around the brand, maybe not in a positive manner, but it is still getting them a lot of publicity.
There were tweets on this campaign, it generated many threads in online forums, as well as making the news.




I remember in my final year of my undergrad, I was designing a campaign, and I wanted the campaign to break the borders of fashion, I wanted it to be something completely unique, and in one of my initial presentations I had shown a couple of pictures of the Vogue India editorial in which the poor are carrying designer items. I had mentioned in that presentation that this was one of my all time favourite fashion editorials, because it really defined the gap between the rich and poor at the same time subtly eliminated it... it created a visual oxymoron. One of the children in the campaign had a Fendi bib on, and that bib could fund his household expenditure for a month, or maybe even more. In the Western world, I didn't expect them to understand my point of view and as expected they were completely horrified that I actually loved the editorial and showed it as an example, it was beyond their comprehension, but I thought it was something that we saw on a day to day basis in Pakistan whilst we are in our cars with our tinted windows holding our designer bags and wearing our designer sunglasses, there is a world of poverty stricken people begging for 25 cents just a couple of feet away. I thought collaborating the two concepts was so clever, and would definitely make one look twice. As I have mentioned earlier, these days most fashion campaigns seem to be one of a kind, especially in terms of lawn in Pakistan. Whilst the Sana Safinaz campaign definitely stands out and has generated a buzz on social media - ultimately publicity is publicity whether positive or negative and this in my opinion would not lower the sales of their clothing hence it is not really harming the brand, as it is no one seems to be boycotting the brand and are counting down to purchase the lawn. I am disappointed however, that the idea was not original by any means, and was a Pakistani version of the Vogue India editorial.
The Vogue India editorial is still discreet with a softer juxtaposition, it's about finding the designers within the image and creating beautiful images with a sense of high fashion using the most basic monogrammed designer items - e.g. a Fendi bib, a Burberry umbrella (where as these items would not even be considered high fashion if not viewed in this setting). In contrast, the S&S campaign is so in your face with the croc birkin and LV luggage - a little OTT in my opinion but certainly not something to take so seriously, just a campaign at the end of the day.



What are your views on the S&S S/S'12 campaign? Clever or inconsiderate?
- A

Darmaki shoes

I love shoes!!!!!!!!

Currently I am in love with Darmaki shoes. Dubai based designer Sultan Al-Darmaki has launched a collection of shoes which have a modern silhouette paired with a cultural touch. He is said to be the first luxury footwear designer from the Middle East. His designs are truly one of a kind and the colours are to die for. If you know me you'll know I have a thing for bright bold colours.


Click here to access the website

Click here to buy online

Here is a scan from Pose magazine; I'm loving the turquoise pair with the tassels. Need to order myself a pair ASAP.

15 Mar 2012

The Lawn Fad

Lawn culture seems to be inherent in every Pakistani woman's DNA.
I have heard ridiculous stories about women running to exhibitions with buckets of water in their cars to shrink the fabric and deliver it to their tailors for (asap) stitching - only to be the first to wear the design.
Sana Safinaz exhibitions in the past have been like a fish market, so personally I tend to avoid these kind of events at all costs. I'd rather go to a Saks sale and have people fight me for a pair of shoes than women with their dupattas in my face, grabbing whatever they can find. Really smart of S&S not to have an exhibition this year and proceed with supplying to stores. Kudos to that.

I would also like to ask what is up with using Indian celebrities in lawn campaigns? Sonam Kapoor is the brand ambassador for Firdous lawn 2012, and Karishma Kapoor for Crescent lawn with the typical poses - quite disappointing. I think lawn campaigns need to be a little less mainstream and possibly a little more high fashion and different. If all lawn has the same brand personality then where's the fun?





Even though quite clearly I am not lawn freak, undoubtedly there is some great talent out there.
A few lawn collections that have intrigued me this year are Misaal and Elan




"SHE" magazine referred to Misaals style as "an adventurous bold colour palette and a fusion of Eastern and Western cuts."  

Btw, adore the Misaal logo and funky graphics!! - super cool from a design POV:



(Images from Misaal facebook page)


I absolutely adore Elan's colours and prints, they give such a soft feminine look.


I would love to hear your opinion on lawn and also about your favourite lawn collections this season!!

- A

Hello World Wide Web!!

A little introduction; Let's refer to me as "A". I am a fashion obsessed freak who has recently moved to Karachi, Pakistan after completing my masters in marketing. I did my bachelors in communication design and public relations.


If I tell you everything now, the rest of the blog will be boring so keep checking back for some TOOOOTYYYYFRUITYYYYBEAUTYYYY blurbs :)))


Enjoy!!!
- A