The PDCF, will be on show in its 9th consecutive year will showcase Pakistan’s best design talent in the cultural capital of Lahore from April 11 where traditional and progressive designs will grace the runway side by side.
The PDCF celebrates fashion with two bi-annual fashion weeks in both Lahore and Karachi, exhibiting Spring/Summer fashion in April and Winter fashion and bridal in September.
Fashion publicist, Amjad Bhatti who represents designer Saira Shakira said the event unites the fashion community.
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“It brings the fashion community together across the whole of Pakistan to Lahore, which is the cultural hub of Pakistan,” Mr Bhatti said.
Textiles is Pakistan’s largest manufacturing industries, however deeply rooted religious conservatism frequently suppresses the unspoken booming market for ‘cosmopolitan fashion’.
The Financial Daily reports Pakistan is ranked 10th in the worlds textile manufacturers.
Popular fashion influencer Saleema Fareshte (or Karachista on Instagram) said the fashion week in Lahore is taking precedence in showcasing a liberal side to Pakistan.
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“PDFC is having their 20th consecutive fashion week in nine years, not a lot of events were happening at this time nor was Pakistan known for its fashion, I think the big headline was more terrorism than achievement.”
“Fashion is one of the industries that have a lot of women who’ve made it big, and it’s an industry that’s worth a lot of money, it is a massive industry,” Fareshte said.
“Pakistan has got a very large population, and the fashion industry is a very important part of the economy, it’s somewhere where women have been able to make a mark for ourselves.”
SBS’s series ‘States of Undress’ explored the world of experimental fashion within Pakistan in 2016, focusing on that years Karachi Fashion Week, an insight rarely explored through Western media.
The common stereotype regarding Pakistan’s fashion is the assumption all women within its borders exclusively wear minimalist hijabs and burqas, and although a percentage of women do only partake in this wing of modest dressing, new styles are gaining popularity among young designers.
Instagram fashion influencer, Sadaf Zarrar said there is a “very conservative element of Pakistan” who don’t like the “envelope to be pushed”, preferring “traditional styles of clothing” while new designers are more “progressive.”
“The development of the internet in the last 8-10 years you see the local fashion aesthetic evolving so you see a lot more people fusing outfits, more westernised silhouettes appearing on eastern clothing,” Ms Zarrar said.
