The Pakistan Fashion Design Council and Sunsilk are pleased to announce official dates, participating fashion designers, textile houses and high street labels for PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week 2013. To this end, the week of fashion is scheduled to take place in Lahore from 26 – 29 April 2013.With their 6th consecutive prêt a porter Fashion Week, PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week 2013 will be showcasing a diversity of Luxury/Prèt collections from over 33 designers, brands and textile houses over a period of 4 days, defining and presenting trends for 2013, focusing specifically on the regions’ long hot summer months.
Presenting Prèt collections at PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week 2013 are: Adnan Pardesy, Akif, Ali Xeeshan, Asifa & Nabeel, Ayesha Hashwani, Faiza Samee, Élan, Fahad Hussayn, Feeha Jamshed, Fnk Asia, HSY, Karma, Khaadi Khaas, Maria B, Muse, Maheen Karim, Mohsin Ali, Misha Lakhani, Nickie Nina, Nida Azwer, Republic by Omar Farooq, Rizwan Beyg, Shehla Chatoor, Sana Safinaz, Sania Maskatiya, Somal Halepoto, Sublime by Sara, Tapu Javeri, Wardha Saleem, Yahsir Waheed and Zonia.
Staying true to their tradition of launching new talent into the mainstream fashion business, the PFDC will also be introducing upcoming new talent with a separate “Emerging New Talent Show”.
Furthermore, in keeping with the summer season and remaining cognizant of their ongoing commitment to creating synergy/collaboration between textile and fashion, the PFDC will also be holding 2 days of designer-textile mill voile shows featuring: Chen One, Firdous Cloth Mills, Ittehad Textile, Kayseria, Lakhany Silk Mills, Lala Textiles, Nimra Textile, Sitara Textile Menswear, Sitara Textile Womenswear and Shariq Textile.
The 6th PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week also marks the exciting new addition of High-Street Fashion Shows that are set to showcase and highlight contemporary affordable ready-to-wear featuring; Adnan Pardesy for The Working Woman, Coco – Zara Shahjahan, MK Nation by Karma, Kayseria Prèt as well as Maheen Karim & Sanam Chaudhry for Bonanza.
Speaking about the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week platform, Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the PFDC, Sehyr Saigol said: “The support we have received from our sponsors and local and international industry stakeholders over the years of us staging PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week has been incredibly encouraging and has driven us to undertake new initiatives to highlight Pakistan’s burgeoning fashion industry.
To this end, recognizing the growing trend of High-Street fashion, we launched our pioneering PFDC High-Street fashion store this year, providing mainstream fashion retailers the opportunity to bring their brands to the PFDC consumer and platform. To further expand this retail platform, this Fashion Week will feature a dedicated day to showcase a versatile range of Pakistani High-Street fashion, a first for PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week. As always, we anticipate an exciting 4 days of fashion, business and the building of synergies.”
VP Marketing, Unilever Pakistan Amir Paracha said; “The PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week is an annual event, which we as Unilever are very proud of because when we started off in 2010, our ambition was to make it the best and the most authentic Fashion Week in Pakistan. And after 3 consecutive years of untiring efforts of PFDC and its designers, Sunsilk’s unwavering commitment and the encouragement by our dynamic media, we are delighted to see the positive impact it has been able to make in the fashion industry.
Continuing with our unswerving commitment behind PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week, this time around we are proud to present exclusively designed Sunsilk Collectible Bottles by the top known Pakistani designers. Additionally, our Pond’s brand will enliven the red carpet with its Reveal Lounge, which will allow a peak into the next day’s shows. This year’s event promises to be a feast of fashion and I wish the participants and everyone involved the very best of luck.”
For the 6th PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week, in the interest of taking the business of fashion a step further, the PFDC will also be welcoming regional buyers, agents and journalists. To complement their attendance, the PFDC has also ensured permanent exhibition stalls are set up at the venue for the duration of PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week with each designers’/textile houses portfolio, production capabilities and design sensibilities clearly exhibited enabling networking opportunities throughout the duration of the event.
The council has also ensured that those brands and labels exhibiting have been equipped with the requisite knowledge and training to allow them to deal professionally with agents, buyers and stockists and in this regard, PFDC has invited Carol Hanlon, a world renowned agent and industry expert from Australia, to hold a seminar students from Pakistan Institute of Fashion Design [PIFD], National College of Arts [NCA] and Beaconhouse National University [BNU] to be held at PIFD and then another one for participating designers and brands at Expo on “Growing a Fashion Business” focusing on the commercial aspects of fashion. Carol has established many non-profit community based organizations such as the Belmont Business Enterprise Centre Inc. (BEC), Textile Clothing Footwear Resource Centre WA Inc. (TCFWA), Design Edge Fashion Incubator, TCF Australia & TCF Global.
“Pakistan is seeking its style-stake in the global market”- Leading international Fashion Journalist Hilary Alexander as quoted in the News Instep
“For years now, I have been traveling to different parts of the world, attending fashion weeks. Some are great fun, like the Nigerian fashion week, which is very exotic. There are other fledgling fashion weeks, like the one in Turkey, that struggle to be fashionable but haven’t yet managed to leave a mark. In contrast, I think the two PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Weeks have been conducted very professionally with great locations and, of course, some very promising designers.” Alexandra Senes – French Consultant for the Council while speaking to The News – Instep
“The first Lahore Fashion Week showed the city at its liveliest, belying every Pakistani cliché. The clothes, the collections, the pounding music had a rhythm like no other” Leading Indian Fashion Journalist Hindol Sengupta while speaking to Dawn – Images
“There are many interesting ideas…Especially now that the textile industry in Europe is declining. Pakistan, with its traditional crafts and very low labour costs, has a great potential” Sonja Noel – Owner of Style Emporium Stijl in Brussels
“…four days of fashion and business- very high energy and very glamorous”, Daily Times
