Living in the times that we are; where every waking moment is gripped by apprehension and despair seizes every person on the switch of television, any little change is welcome. The constant suicide bombings, the indefinite price hikes of different commodities every other day, the never ending load shedding; all these factors have given less or nothing for the common man to look forward to and hope for. But even in these astringent times, the light at the end of the tunnel remains. There are industries and people in this country who still strive to maintain a positive, constructive and encouraging image of Pakistan alive.
One such industry is the fashion industry, which despite all the gloom and despair spreading over the people of Pakistan, still aims at promoting a progressive representation of the country. Despite the constant backlash in the international community regarding our homeland, the fashion industry still strives to promote our culture and our genuineness through international fashion shows and other forums.
In these stern times of turmoil, fashion has kept its cool and has given a lot of people the outlet and the channel to truly express themselves, in the real sense of the word. Karachi fashion week, Lahore fashion week, Islamabad fashion week; all of these events brought something new to the table and made the community aware of the real genius of its fashion industry. Fashion figures such as Mehdi, HSY, Umar Sayeed, Deepak Perwani and Nickie Nina are famous names amongst international fashion scenario; where they have developed an optimistic and a sanguine image of Pakistan by promoting Pakistani culture through their dresses and bridal wear.
Likewise, the Bridal fashion week also helped in promoting a culturally intricate image of Pakistan where different designers from neighboring countries also participated and got a chance to view Pakistan in a totally different and optimistic light.
Similarly, different casual wear designers such as Breakout, Ego or Uth Oye strive at promoting the innate Pakistani culture and traditions through their clothing. The fashion industry, time and again, has given people hope and positivity in this era of sheer despondency. During the times of natural calamities such as the tragic floods of last year or the massive earthquake, the fashion industry left no stone unturned to help the people in their dire need of hour by holding charitable shows and auctions.
The evolvement of fashion over the period of time in contrast with the turbulence that our country is going through is noteworthy. Times change, people change, fashions change; but fashion motivating people to make statements, whether political, economical, social or environmental, is a notable achievement that our fashion industry has succeeded in attaining.
