Making an impact through fashion

As the year 2022 comes to its end, it’s time we took a look back at leading trends and great moments that characterised Pakistan’s fashion

Constantly changing in terms of colour, style, theme, material and suchlike, the world of fashion in an ever-evolving phenomenon. However, there are always a few patterns which characterise the time and year of the prevailing fashion scene. As the year 2022 now comes to a close, it’s time to take a look back at the numerous fashion trends, new collections, and great moments that defined the year with all its leading happenings and destined vicissitudes.

In Pakistan, the beginning of the year 2022 saw one of the most unique collaborations in the fashion industry when the Coke Studio, a music television series, joined  hands with Khaadi, one of Pakistan’s leading fashion and lifestyle labels. The collaboration was followed by an all-encompassing campaign that featured various Pakistani music artistes together with the lesser known people at Khaadi as they evolved through sounds, harmonies, movements, tastes, and styles. The coolest collab of the season, their association produced a variety of graphic T-shirts, tunics, dresses, and stoles. The onset of the year also heralded the strategic collaboration between Anaya by Kiran Chaudhry, a clothing brand, and The House of Kamiar Rokni, Pakistan’s leading fashion house which showcases the country’s most diverse cultural heritage in line with its enriched aesthetic gloss. The collaboration gave rise to the avant-garde festive collection named Dhanak,  featuring an array of designs ahead of the their time based on a variety of schemes using bright colours to stylish cuts. Interpreted as the epitome of fashion of the year 2022,  their creations were not only beautiful but also low-cost.

The welcome launch of international designer Ali Haider’s debut collection in Pakistan coincided with the rise of different fashion labels across the country. Having earned global fame in New York Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week and many more, Haider made no mistake in Pakistan as well, adding an edge to Eastern bridal couture the country has never seen before.

The year 2022 also saw the phenomenal rise of Zain Ahmed’s ‘Rastah,’ an underground brand that made its way to Vogue and Karan Johar’s pick of the year. ‘Debuted in 2018, ‘Rastah’ in just a few years has amassed a cult-like following, including many well-known artistes, musicians and celebrities. Its global impact continues to grow and expand.

The highlight of the year was the Vogue’s story about Hassan Sheheryar Yasin (HSY), who posted the feature on Instagram  and received much accolade from the fashion fraternity. Indeed, being featured in Vogue, the world’s leading fashion and lifestyle monthly, was a major accomplishment for HSY.

‘The Wrap,’ a Lahore-based handbag brand,  was also featured in the Paris Fashion Week 2022 series.

At the peak of the year, Pakistani fashion came across a moment of pride when designer Mohsin Naveed Ranjha was widely applauded for designing for an American television miniseries titled ‘Ms Marvel’. With a festive outfit worn by an American actress Travina Springer, Disney was proud to represent Pakistan on screen in the latest episodes of Ms. Marvel. On such a momentous occasion, Mohsin Naveed Ranjha expressed gratitude to Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Disney for putting Pakistanis and their culture on the world map.

This year’s Independence Day was based on an all-embracing theme of inclusivity, as several fashionistas wore all white to highlight and aesthetically reinforce the  inclusion of the country’s religious minorities in all affairs of life. However, two distinct outfits appeared everywhere, which included Mariyam D.Rizwan’s white kurtas and sherwanis.  Adorned by leading celebrities and fashion influencers, both apparels made waves on social media on August 14th for being the go-to ensembles that beautifully represented and projected the modern Pakistani woman..

This year’s the Paris Fashion Week (PFW) was themed on the world’s erratic climate changes, as well as an exploration of the latest fashion trends. Models strutting their stuff on the runway, Mehdi Hassan’s ‘Dunya Kisi Ke Pyar Mein’ played at Paris Fashion Week in an exclusive slot by GmbH, a German company, thus the PFW 2022 was indeed one of the year’s biggest highlights for Pakistan too.

The aforementioned were just a few of the many occasions when Pakistan’s fashion came into global limelight. Now in the New Year 2023 too, we anticipate that the country’s fashion industry will outperform its own past achievements, as high-end users will continue to spend and travel abroad. At the same time, Pakistani-originated fashion brands will offer  more affordable products in the market, and we will see the local fashion grabbing headlines in the international media.