In medieval times the color black was associated with everything that was evil. Cats were black, witches wore black, the plague was called the Black Plague, even Satanists wore black robes and tried to bring forth the end of the world. Indeed, if you were to wear black, the chances of you being hunted down as a witch increased exponentially. Then the world came to its senses, and realized that black had a lot more to offer the fashion industry than any other color. Due to the fact that it is not technically a color, but the absence of light altogether, black can go with almost any color, complimenting it. Thus, black has always been and will always be in vogue, be it in eastern or western wear. This color isn’t restricted to happy or sad events; the wearer can make a black dress look appropriate for any  occasion. Black isn’t even restricted to any age group, you go to a birthday party, bridal shower, funeral, wedding or a dinner, you’ll see that at least one person in every age group would be cladded in a black dress be it a toddler’s suit, a cute frock, a sensuous saree or a poised suiting. There are colors which are for a particular sex but black puts no such limitations on its wearers and one more plus about this color is that it gives a slimming effect so it is good for the ones conscious about their physique and the extra mass that comes out from here and there. There was a time when you’d get to see people wearing only party wears, routine clothes or semi-formals in black but now you’ll find even bridal wears in this color, matched with another dark tone and embellished rightly around the designated areas with Swarovski, antique zardozi, semi-precious stones and delicate gota work. Black lends its ability to bring forth the sparkle of stones and metals greatly making them shine like stars on a dark moonless sky. Gone were the days when black would be seen a depressing color, associated with loss and sadness, now Black has found its way on the stage of a wedding. Parents and grandparents still clinging to the old out-dated traditions would tell you that you advocating a manhoos (cursed) color for a happy event. They don’t know much about fashion, it seems. When it comes to men’s fashion, black has played an important role in transitioning an immature boy to a civilized and cultured man. Black suits, sherwanis, kurtas and salwar kameez make all the difference when you want someone to take you seriously. If anything, for men, black is a take-me-seriously color, as long as you don’t embellish it with sparkly, glittery motifs. Those just ruin the image. Switching our attention to fashion designers, you tend to hear them say stuff like “this season, pink is the new black” or similar. Yet, at the end of the day, they look towards black for inspiration. Come to the dark side, we know our fashion.

Valentine’s Day is celebrated on the fourteenth of February but preparations for it start from the beginning of the month. You step into a shopping mall and you’ll see red drapes falling from the ceiling, red heart balloons stuck to the staircase grill and most importantly, every shop has red clothes on display, be it an eastern or western wear shop. You’d see Maria.B’s red lehenga exhibited on the display window, reflecting the designer’s signature style or a red georgette saree designed in a classy manner with a sleeveless blouse, lightly studded with stones, crystals and diamantes, perfect to wear it to a valentine’s party. Red may be the primary color of choice when it comes to Valentine’s Day, but lately, pink clothing is getting more popular. You’d see teens and young adults in various shades of red and pink salwar kameez, or like Aeisha Varsey, who decided to reveal one of her masterpieces on Valentine’s Day which was baby pink Anarkali suit, embroidered with silver and red thread and zardozi. Similarly, red gowns and formal silk tunic tops are seen on Gulabo, Mantra, Monsoon, Generations and Khaadi Khaas display. Valentine’s Day Fashion isn’t limited to just clothes, since accessories and gift shops also take advantage of this day. You tend to see red, or pink sparkly bracelets make an appearance with diamantes studded in a pattern or necklaces with heart motifs and other lovey dovey paraphernalia to complete your outfit. But what is the point of having an amazing outfit if you don’t have something to give to your beloved on this special day. For that reason, gift shops start to stock their shelves with exclusive hand-made trinkets, may it be a “be my valentine” mug, or a card putting your heart’s desire in a comical gesture (for plausible deniability’s sake). Personalization is an important trend on Valentine’s Day. If you go to any shopping mall during the days before Valentine’s Day, you come across stalls that would embroider a cute message on matching towels, or necklace makers who would string out your beloved’s name with colorful beads, or write it on a tiny grain of rice. Stores tend to have V-Day sales with special discounts on chocolates and flowers, or handing trinkets out for free on crossing reaching a certain monetary threshold. Restaurants jump in on the bandwagon as well, with reservations going a mile long, promising all those who manage to make it on the list, a magical romantic experience. When Valentine’s Day finally pops up, shopping malls, get decked in red drapes, flowery banners and romantic music, and as for those suddenly super exclusive restaurants, dimmed lights, candle-lit tables, furnishings in various shades of red, and a staff attire to match. All of this is for just one day. But, if you do manage to make an impression on your beloved then all their effort pays off.

A person’s value is defined by the contributions he makes in his community. The more a person’s value, the more influence he has, and thus dominating his chosen field via his expertise. Pakistan’s fashion world isn’t just dominated by experienced and popular designers who have studied fashion from renowned local or foreign art schools and interned under the supervision of great designers of the world, rather, there are many upcoming designers who are striving to make their way into the fashion world basing their designs on what the common man wants in his clothes. Every day a new bunch of people add to this list and not all these people are graduates of art school or even students learning the basics of fashion rather there are also some who just have a natural designer in them, their dressing and sense of style is appreciated by the people in their surroundings, to the extent that they’re forced to design clothes for their families and friends and then pushed to hold exhibitions of their clothes which are open to all. There are many such designers such has MEHRENE, Color Rush, Cyma Abro, Maria Sam Couture, Wafa & Ana Atelier and many more. Most of them are not fashion school grads, they all have expertise in different lines of clothes. For e.g. Color Rush does semi-formal and formal western wear in form of tunic tops, tops, button down shirts and palazzos, Cyma Abro on the other hand does bridal dresses for her family and relatives, casual and semi-formal kurta tunics, shalwar kameez and kurta shalwar infusing modern cuts in desi wear, whereas, Wafa & Ana Atelier mostly do kurta tunics using a lot of crystal stones and semi-precious stones in their outfits, experimenting with bold cuts and colors but keeping it wearable for a Pakistani girl. On the other hand, a few of these up and coming fashion designers are people whom you would have never expected to enter the world of fashion. It may be a pop musician turned religious preacher slash fashion designer, or waning supermodel turned talk show host slash fashion designer. These people though unlikely to be born designers, work from experience. Let’s take the example of Junaid Jamshed (JJ). JJ started his veritable career as a member of a legendary Pakistani pop band, Vital Signs, broke off to pursue a solo career, then turned to Islam, and somehow managed to launch a clothing line called J. (pronounced as Jay Dot). His lineup consists of moderately simple clothes that have simple embellishments. With his lawn collection being release into the market, he has used savvy entrepreneurship to engrave his mark amongst the fashion designers of Pakistan. With all this talk about upcoming designers, one would think that names such as Gul Ahmed and Al-Karam would be on the defensive with competition looming around the corner. Yet rather than innovate, and match wit with the newbies, these giants stick to their roots and their brand loyalists, allowing their competition to frolic to their hearts content.

Sarees have always been in fashion be it for weddings, semi-formal wear for parties or even daily routine depending on the region of South Asia you dwell in. If it is India, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka then you’d get to see women wearing cotton sarees with printed borders in their daily routine as it a part of their culture. But when it comes to Pakistan, you will still get to see your cotton and banarsi sarees  in your grandma’s clothing collection and a few, heavily embellished  ones in your mom’s closet, for in Pakistan, sarees have become more of a special event attire than every day wear. They say that after partition, the people who migrated to Karachi brought the saree-wearing tradition with them to Pakistan and didn’t let go of it. But we’re saying this for the older generation, may it be high-society aunties or females still attached to their pre-partition roots. The new generation’s interest in sarees developed from their neighbors, the Indians. Thanks to the Star Plus dramas where heroines would be decked up in loud makeup, heavily embellished sarees and flashy jewelry, the saree wearing culture has been revived. Nowadays you see teenagers gradually graduating from simple shalwar kameez and frocks to sarees for their graduation parties, friends’ weddings, and the like. Nothing says “refined female” in our culture as the ability to properly wear and then walk in a saree. The inspiration to wear heavy sarees didn’t start from here, before the Star Plus, it was out Rekha, from Bollywood who would wear banarsi sarees, with thick borders and long pallu (a part of the saree draped over the shoulder) with big, round  bindi, after  her it was Sri Devi who aroused the love for georgette and net sarees by wearing alluring bottle green saree in her film Mr. India, or yellow and white net sarees  film Chandni, next emerged Sushmita Sen in her movie Mien Hoon Nah, exactly where she wore sensual georgette, sleeveless, Manish Malhotra sarees. The sarees were donned in vivacious hues having a knot tied up behind the woman's blouse. Each, Manish Malhotra as well as Neeta Lulla have made a distinct segment amongst the public of Mumbai based saree creative designers.  Both infusing their own brand of uniqueness into the conventional sarees. Neeta Lulla’s patterns won her about three National Film Awards with regard to finest outfit design, Manish Malhotra, has extended his couture brand overseas. And with the gradual popularity of Bollywood films under western culture, the actual saree using tradition is actually dispersing around the world. Almost all worldwide known designers are actually providing to not merely clients associated with Asian lineage, however those connected with western descent as well. Sarees beyond the lower part of Asia tend to be seen as a high-class wear, together with other limiting and skin displaying clothes. There is a particular appeal that many a young girl get interested in which comes from emulating some sort of Bollywood heroine, because not only is the combination of cultural experience rejuvenating, but absolutely nothing is better than acquiring attention of the people like a attention grabbing saree. Sarees are making a return, the actual bandwagon awaits you.

Winters in Karachi are as short as summers in European countries; it starts from mid-November and lasts till mid-February. For the average Karachite, the transition from winter into the first day of spring is quite different than how one would read about it in a piece of literature. There are no birds chirping, nor flowers blooming. Spring is announced by gigantic billboards popping up at every intersection with models posing with various pieces of furniture draped in enough cloth to make a bed sheet out of. Yes, spring is announced by the arrival of Lawn. Lawn prints, lawn collections, lawn sales, and lawn exhibitions come crashing down on the unsuspecting Karachite announcing that spring, is here, or expected to arrive any minute now.  Last year in 2012 around one hundred and fourteen (114) designers launched their lawn collection, some of the popular lawn print designers are Deepak Perwani, Maria.B, Junaid Jamshed (JJ), Nishaat Lawn, Gul  Ahmed, Al-Karam, Nomi Ansari, Sana Safinaz, Firdous Lawn, Asim Jofa, LSM, Bonanza Lawn, Mausummery Lawn and the list is never ending. Every year you’ll get to see five to ten new additions to the list. There was a time when only Gul Ahmed and Al-Karam would be the biggest names for lawn prints but now it’s completely different, big designers have entered this such as Deepak Perwani, Faiza Samee, Maria.B, Umer Sayeed, Nomi Ansari, Sana Safinaz etc. and this is still justified because they were already in the apparel industry, it’s just they broadened their horizon and started serving one more segment. What is surprising is that even renowned models have joined this lucrative business such as Vaneeza Ahmed and Nadia Hussain. All these designers experiment on the same material i.e. lawn but they leave their mark on their creations. For e.g. Sana Safinaz do long taweez (embroidery starting from the neckline to the stomach) with big borders, Vaneeza Ahmed doesn’t do much cluttered designs rather her prints are for young girls, flowery and mod. Whereas if one were to look at the GulAhmed lawn prints 2012 collection one would see that Gul Ahmed kept their tradition of always coming up with unique color combinations and their material is comparatively better than its competitors. With fierce competition bought by Vaneeza, Nishat, and Deepak Perwani lawn collections, Gul Ahmed has yet to acknowledge them as any sort of competition. It is a well known fact that while these new designers claim to cater to the masses, Gul Ahmed has and hopefully continue to bring affordable designer wear to those on a budget. These lawn designers have various ranges in lawn prints like a plain lawn dress, lawn dress with silk borders and dupattas or that with embroidered patches and net or chiffon sleeves. However, since lawn is such a versatile material, readymade clothes is just one facet of this multi million rupee industry. Cheaper versions of their popular prints are flooded into the market allowing anyone to grab their favorite design and stitch it themselves, or by their talented neighborhood tailor. Lawn is as much a staple of Pakistan as chai-biscuit.

If you look back into your childhood then all you’ll remember is one channel running on the TV where only news would be broadcasted, a few cartoons would be shown in the evening and a drama serial or two written by Haseena Moin would be aired. This is all that the Pakistani Media had to offer to the viewers and they were pretty satisfied with it. Then came the era of Dish Antenna which brought Indian Channels in Pakistan, it introduced a cookery show on Zee TV called “Khana Khazana” in which Chef Sanjeev Kapoor would teach Indian recipes. Meanwhile, Pakistani media started to grow when new channels sprouted comprising of different shows catering to all segments of Pakistan. We now have a separate TV channel for cartoons, news, drama serials, fashion world and cooking shows. Masala TV and Zauq are popular amongst the masses, where chefs are followed religiously by the Pakistani women. There are several chefs who air on these channels at different timings in their own personal shows such has Chef Zakir, Zubeida Tariq, Chef Gulzar, Chef Shai, Shireen Anwar, Rida Aftab, Zarnak Sidhwa and the list goes on. These chefs experiment with the ingredients and come up new recipes in every episode, however, the recipes sometimes taste the same and there isn’t anything really different about them. The sets are mostly sponsored by cooking oil or spices companies. Where the backdrop and the kitchen is of primary importance, the host, her fashion sense and her clothes are equally significant. Usually, the chef’s attire is significant to her being taken seriously. However, sometimes these hosts don’t really consider the ramifications of their choices. Take for example a host wearing an elegant tunic with flared out sleeves. While it is a stylish choice, the sleeves tend to come in the way of cooking, and with open flames on the set, that tunic is an accident waiting to happen. Age appropriate apparel is also key, as is in the case of Zubeida Tariq. For ages, she has been on TV, wearing sarees at all her appearances. She has stuck to her pre-partition roots, and her dressing actually inspires confidence in women all over Pakistan. Just imagine Zubeida-appa wearing designer kurtis! If you remember Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, you’d realize that most of our male chefs follow his example, dressed in crisp, immaculate attire. There are a couple of exceptions to the case. Tahir Chaudhary’s bright flashy shirts reminded one of an old episode of Miami Vice… any episode would do. There was in fact, a method to his madness, as those clothes tended to distract viewers from his food’s appalling presentation. When he got better at plating the food, he too donned the traditional chef’s attire. Chef Gulzaar, went in the opposite direction. His shows comprise of crazy costumes, with an embellished cotton kurta being the mildest piece in his collection, and breaking into regular song and dance. Looks like it’s about time to remind certain chefs that cooking shows are meant to be about food and practical kitchen wear, not showcasing designer labels.

Depending on the region of Pakistan or India you dwell in, sarees are considered fashionable, be it for semi-formal wear, parties, weddings or even daily routine. When it comes to Pakistan, you will still get to see your cotton and banarsi sarees in your grandma’s wardrobe and in your mother’s closet few formal, heavily embellished ones, for in Pakistan, sarees have become more of a special event attire than every day wear. They say that after partition, the people who migrated to Karachi brought the saree-wearing tradition with them to Pakistan. But if one talks about India, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh then you’d get to see women wearing, as it a part of their culture, cotton sarees with printed borders in their daily routine. Saree or sari patterns (hey, we need one definite spelling for that word) have had a confused evolution with time. With the conservative lot, you’ll get to see saree blouses which don’t reveal the whole back and navel area rather they’re long enough to cover the woman’s body till waist. They wear such blouses with full, three-quarter or cap sleeves, showing as less skin as possible yet looking elegant and graceful in the chosen attire. However, some tend to wear short blouses, exposing their navel and waist, with  no sleeves or at times with full sleeves as well depending on their choice. Others have the option to wear backless blouses or hi-neck, sleeveless blouses as well. With this they either wear saree with a lot of drapes which gives volume to the lower area and this style is good for the weak ones. Whereas, some wear slim sarees with less volume, then there are lengha style sarees where the pallu or drape that falls off from one shoulder, tends to have a not so long pallu with a slim-skirt like bottom. There are various designers who are popular in making elegant and beautiful sarees. In our culture, nothing says “sophisticated female” as the ability to properly wear a saree. Much of our younger generation has been influenced by constant stream of dramas from Star Plus. Almost all of these dramas are plot-centric advertisements for all sorts of saree cuts, showcasing which cut would enhance which body type. Bollywood is another big contender in promoting sarees. A staggering majority of the old bollywood movies had a key plot point where the girl would wear her brand new saree and either catch the eye of the supposed hero, trigger a dream-like song and dance sequence (filled with more sarees) or finally have the wedding she wanted. Keeping that in mind, young impressionable kids might begin to think that sarees fulfill one’s dreams. If that’s the case, then Neeta Lulla, and Manish Malhotra sell guaranteed dream fulfillers. Nomi Ansari is another name worth mentioning, one of the handful of amazing Pakistani saree designers out there. Remember, sarees bring happiness.

Since the dawn of civilization, trade has played an important role in various social structures. Where there is a demand for a product the economy tries it’s best to profit from it. In the beginning travelling merchants would bring their wares to communities in their area. Then came the times when people would go to shops, to purchase goods for themselves. But now it’s different, they have several options available other than the ancient method that being, they can visit the shop’s webpage, go through their product offerings, select the item and buy it by physically going to the shop or they can sit home, log on to the internet, shop online, pay online through their credit card and have their product delivered on their doorstep. Over the years, there has been development in online shopping; now you’ll come across an online shop for almost anything and everything. In this age of information, transactions are quick, and secure. Fashion is all about setting new trends and innovating existing trends to  create a distinct product. Naturally, with the advent of online shopping, the fashion industry has successfully tried to make a niche for itself. Pretty soon visits to the boutique and the darzi will become obsolete and online shopping would replace it completely. Nowadays you can even order your bridal dress online or a party wear dress. There are various sites for it such as bargello.com and cbazaar.com which sells a variety of traditional eastern wear or eastern wear infused with western cuts. Bargello has all sorts of anarkali suits, bridal dresses, party wear, evening wear, sarees, shararas, lehenghas, ghagras, kurti tops and lawn prints. They don’t only cater to the women segment rather they also accommodate the men by selling sherwanis, shalwar kameez, kurta shalwar and even turbans to go with the sherwanis. Whereas, cbazaar is an Indian Online store which caters kids along with women and men. Both these websites sell jewelry and accessories as well. Cbazaar promotes local Indian brands a lot. If you are in the mood for saree shopping, then saree.com is by far one of the better options available to you. They have a vast collection of sarees categorized by event, color and everything in between, and their new arrivals and top sellers web-pages are a must see. Finally, another worthy mention is salwar.com. Salwar.com is an Indian clothing outlet that is on par with cbazaar.com and bargello.com, with a wide range of traditional clothing options for men, women and kids, with categories such as anarkali suit, party wear, custom designed suits, sherwanis and bollywood replicas for those who consider themselves as the next Ashwariya, Rekha, or Sushmita. When one talks about online shopping, payment is secure and quick. Paypal has made online shopping easy worldwide. Acting as a middleman between the supplier and client, they ensure that you receive your product before the supplier gets paid. Contrary to what ill-informed people say, online shopping is pretty safe, and you do get what you paid for.

You switch on a Pakistani channel early morning and you’ll find Shaista Wahidi, Fiza Ali, Juggan Kazim, Faisal Qureshi, Fahad Mustufa, Nida Yasir on different channels hosting morning shows. This trend actually became popular when Nadia Khan started appearing on Geo Tv in the mornings, calling different guests every day and then later other channels started following her by employing celebrities to host morning shows for their channels. These morning show hosts would call guests from different backgrounds. One day you’d find Pakistan’s top gynecologist explaining various complications that could arise before or after pregnancy, the next day you’d see the cast of an on-going celebrated drama serial sharing their views on their work experience with the team and the director or a renowned oncologists advising on ways to combat cancer or bring a yoga expert to share her personal tips and trick to survive past a hundred years old. The list is never ending. These hosts are never hesitant in sharing social issues in their shows, calling people from diverse walks of life, making them talk about their experiences and tragedies. And if God forbid, Pakistan has been hit by a natural disaster then these hosts conduct shows related to such dreadful events, encouraging the citizens to help the ones infected by the calamities. There came a time when these morning show hosts ran out of guests and then Nida Yasir brought in the trend of celebrating weddings on set. She’d literally have a bride and groom with maybe pseudo or real parents on the show, rejoicing the wedding of their supposedly beloved daughter. They’d get the sets designed by professionals, makeup artist for the bride, designer wear dresses for the bride, groom and their parents and a few fake friends to dance on the mehndi. Another trend that has started, is the inclusion of fitness regimes with their instructors sporting the brightest spandex body suit available, topped with a kameez for modesty’s sake. Designers trying to make a name for themselves see these shows as an opportunity, as not only can the showcase their designs in front of millions of housewives, but if they make enough of an impact, or the host runs out of guests, they can even get to be in the spotlight themselves, discussing about the latest trend in shaadi wear, party wear, or the hottest Pakistani designer dresses they look to for inspiration. During winters, a focus on shaadi wear, with the latest bridal dresses is reason enough to watch various morning shows, similarly during the days before Eid, party wear is given its moment to shine. Tend to look properly and you’ll find you like all those hosts who look amazing and fresh early in the morning, who show a sense of cultured style. You have to admit, for people oozing with happy-bubbly-ness so early in the morning, they sure pull it off in style.

They say no one is too old to learn about fashion. Fashion designers are taking advantage of people’s need to stay fashionable by gradually turning their attention to kids. While we are still a long, long way away from a toddlers jumpsuit by Deepak Perwani, brands like Khaadi have started their own range of Pakistan designer dresses for kids. Take for example a wedding or party in the family and you’ll see the mothers as much worried for their kids’ clothes as they are for themselves. There was a time when mothers would just make them wear anything respectable (and clean), irrespective of the occasion’s significance but now this has changed, mothers go crazy thinking of their children’s outfit for each day. They give special attention to the designing of the clothes and that the outfit should sync with the event. Like men wear Kurta Shalwar or Shalwar Kameez on Eid, Kurta with Chooridar Pajama on Mehndis, Sherwani suit on the Baraat and Full Suit on the Valima similarly kids are seen wearing miniature versions of the aforementioned dresses on such events, looking no less than grown up men, accessorizing their look with a fancy watch and styling their hair with gel. As for the little women, oh! I mean young girls; they are spotted in as heavy dresses as their mothers are, with a small tikka, necklace and colorful bangles in their arms. Some insist on wearing lipstick and nail color as well and I know no girl who doesn’t love putting henna on her hands. This little princess is seen in heavily embellished pakistani ghagra choli, lehenga or even sarees. Making miniature versions of popular traditional dresses is good business. You see tiny kids, barely two-and-a-half feet tall, roaming the aisles of Generations or Khaadi dragging their mothers behind them pointing at clothes with various cartoon characters printed on them that catch their attention. Clothes on hangers so far up in the sky it’s a miracle how those tiny kids manage to spot them. Yet the dark side to this sudden influx of fashion amongst kids is around the corner in the playground, on a swing. Unlike adults, who have had years of training to accept themselves for how the look and what they wear, kids are far more impressionable, and sensitive. Not wearing designer labels may tend to get your kid shunned by a clique or two, wearing knock-offs would however, have a worse result should your kid be found out. Brand loyalty (or slavery) segrigates society into the haves and have nots. Those who can afford brand name merchandise, make sure that they tell those who can’t how much better they are. Kids can be cruel. As a parent, your responsibility is to make sure that whether you can afford designer-wear for your kid or not, he / she should not discriminate against his / her peers, or feel bad about not having branded clothes. Your kid should be happy regardless of what brand he / she wears.