PFDC Sunsilk A/W Fashion Week!
The Pakistan Fashion Design Council and Sunsilk are proud to announce PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2011 scheduled to be staged in the historic city of Lahore, after the acclaim and success of the platform and its previous two weeks of fashion in Lahore [February 2010] and Karachi [November 2010]. The executive committee of PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week have announced March 29th – 1st of April 2011 as their 4 days of fashion, expected to feature over 25 designers encompassing both the leading names from the industry and, exciting emerging talents that the platform continuously aspires to bring forward .
PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week will be staged at one main runway venue and will also include a separate space for designer presentations, press conferences and other such activities. The PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week March 2011 show will be produced by Frieha Altaf of Catwalk Productions, Co-Choreographed by HSY and Frieha Altaf with Event Coordination by the R Team, Green Room management by Kamiar Rokni, Business consultancy by The Little Black Book, Buyer and International Media focused consultants Latitude and Public Relations by Lotus. Participating designer information, show timings will be announced within March 2011.
Speaking about the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week platform, Executive Chairperson of the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week Committee, Sehyr Saigol has said: “We continue to believe in our statement that through consistent weeks of fashion, we are working towards formalising the processes needed to help commercialise Pakistan’s fashion industry. We believe that this platform encourages the business of fashion, from the consistent employment of a skilled workforce to opening up retail opportunities and associations, both locally and internationally while also introducing new talents and creativity to the industry such as Ali Xeeshan, Akif and Mohsin Ali. Indeed the multiple successes of the previous two fashion weeks within the realms of the image of fashion, the contribution to the country and its image, the business of retail et al, has indeed reinforced our commitment to the platform and its sustainability. PFDC and Sunsilk will work to keep the wheels of the industry as long as the benefits continue to outweigh the costs.”
Chairman Unilever Pakistan, Ehsan Malik said “Sunsilk’s partnership with the Pakistan Fashion Design Council has given stability, continuity and an international platform to the fashion fraternity of Pakistan. It’s ushered in the discipline to showcase two collections a year, as is the industry norm globally. Sunsilk is delighted to have played a role in establishing the Fashion Week phenomena. All Fashion Weeks aim to create a buzz with the design and ‘the look’ that will be prevalent in the season to come. PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week brings latest trends and cutting edge styles to consumers and audiences, much as Sunsilk does with latest developments in hair care.”
As a platform, while the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week is only two fashion weeks old, the team is proud of its achievements reached within the short span of a year – Indeed both weeks of fashion have been populated by local and international buyers, stockists and retailers (a list of attending local and foreign stockists, buyers et al is available on request). Further, a direct result of these weeks can be seen in that a multiplicity of designers have now expanded their list of stockists, diversified their collections based on buyer feedback to achieve better retail success and some have had entire collections bought out by individuals and buying houses. Showing at Fashion Weeks have widened the designers base clientele having had their collections exposed to global and a wider range of local clients through world and national media. To this end, the platform has helped designers in stocking their collections at Ogaan in India, Showroom Valentine&thomasdufour in Paris, Studio8 and Soiree in Dubai and Ensemble and Labels in Pakistan which are just select key examples. Indeed in order to increase the ratio of international stockists to Pakistani designers in the long run where we hope to see even more tangible results, the PFDC Sunsilk team wholly encouraged all buyers/stockists who have thus far come in from abroad, to meet and greet all designers at large, visit their workshops and production facilities, view diverse prêt and couture collections and not only remain exposed to those designers showing on the PFDC Sunsilk ramp.
Lastly and significantly, in the summer of 2010, the co-chairperson of the executive committee of the council, Sehyr Saigol was indeed invited to Paris to attend Prêt a Porter Paris and to network with representatives of the Federation Francaise Prêt a Porter Feminin among members of the French media and fashion industries. A primary and direct result of this opportunity can be seen in the Federation’s bid to work closely with the Pakistan fashion Industry and as an initial manifestation of this, agreeing to include and invite select Pakistani designers to an upcoming season of the Paris prêt a porter show which is held bi-annually in Paris. This means designers selected by fashion consultant Alexandra Senes, who has a direct knowledge of Parisian fashion sensibilities, will have the opportunity to show in Paris among the leading names of the global fashion industry. The designers chosen will be based on their design prowess and, importantly, their ability to produce effectively for international retail. Indeed PFDC and Sunsilk believe this to be a first step in creating more avenues to provide a platform for the designers in Pakistan and the endeavour is that through more such positive interaction in the years to come the local fashion industry will be able to make their mark in the global industry.
