Celebrating its reputation of being one of the pioneers of fashion weeks in Pakistan, this year’s Fashion Pakistan Week Spring/Summer 2019 was nothing less than a treat. Fashion Pakistan Week is a one-stop-shop for all your fashion needs – you need look no further. From the latest in apparel to hair styles, accessories and shoes, you name it and FPW covers it all.

In the words of CEO Fashion Pakistan Council Feri Rawanian, “Every time we do Fashion Pakistan Week, our aim is to go bigger and better than the previous shows. And this year, with many changes to the overall structure, from venue to pret and retails making their way onto the ramp and different makeup partners, it was a fashion celebration in all its entirety.”

The venue for the three-day fashion extravaganza was the serene environs of Beach Luxury Hotel which had been beautified with tasteful floral arrangements. It was the red carpet where all the action was; there was a constant trickle of celebrities on the red carpet each more beautiful than the last.

Spread over three days, day one was a solo show by Sana Safinaz while day two presented a colourful designer ensemble comprising Generation, Yasmeen Zaman, Nauman Arfeen, Ideas Pret and Alkaram, Obaid Sheikh, Kanwal and Sania Maskatiya who sent down the runway their ala mode creations in a riot of colours.

Day three was an ode to women – a celebration of life through bridals with antique embroideries laid out on modern silhouettes. The designer lineup had names like Nomi Ansari, Huma Adnan, Amir Adnan, Saira Shakira, Zainab Chottani, The Pink Tree Company and Tena Durrani.

Although the collections were quite enchanting in some cases, it was the celebrity showstoppers that added oomph to some of these fashion segments – Sonya Hussayn, Maya Ali, Hira Tareen, Faisal Qureshi, Hania Amir, Noor Khan, Fahad Mirza, Sanam Saeed, Sarah Khan, Azfar Rehman, Fatima Zara Malik, Asim Azhar and Aliya Iqbal.

While FPW wowed the audience with the latest in the realm of fashion, it was the impeccable makeup and beautifully coiffured hair by Samiya Ansari of Sabs the Salon that stole the show. Makeup and accessories can either make or break a look and that’s where Samiya came in. She sure did a good job of studying the collections before deciding on the look she wanted to create for a particular designer.

Since it was spring summer 2019, Samiya opted for fresh and summery looks, “lighter consistency of the foundation with light and fresh eyes, especially with hair we wanted to be easy and summery as the bridal segments did require a slightly heavier look compared to the rest of the days.”

Talking about the looks created for the various designers and their collections, Samiya apprised, “On the first day we had Sana Safinaz presenting their solo show, which I personally enjoyed the most – light and dewy makeup, with a simple thick liner and nude pink lips with a dab of glossiness. Some hairdos were loosely tied up, whereas others were simple, wavy, beach hair.”

“The second day was retail where we were able to experiment with some teal coloured eyeliners and a light brown close to nude creased eye. The third day was bridal which required a heavier look but I opted for lighter and nude lips and some pops of brighter pinks and oranges so we could present a summer bridal rather than the usual maroon/red lips.”

One of the most dominant features in the hair and makeup in all the looks was loosely tied up, or pulled back hair and soft dewy makeup.

As for the choice of colour for makeup, “this time we opted for a lighter contour technique as summer time really doesn’t require sharp and deep contours. A dewy and fresh look followed by a face hydrating facial spray! That’s the key to a fresh look.”

Samiya did not experiment much with the hair. She opted for simple pulled back hair or a loosely tied up chignon with soft tendrils escaping from the sides, styles which are easy to carry in the hot summers we face in Pakistan – also styles that have mostly dominated this season’s ramp.

It’s always fun to play with hair and beauty accessories and Samiya too made the most of both.

“It was a lot of fun styling No Nonsense Nighat by Generation; they provided us with parandas and self-made pink flowers that we incorporated in the hairstyles. Secondly, we created these tribal, braided updos ourselves for Nomi Ansari, which was really challenging yet satisfying as the hair looked extravagant and tribal all at once on the ramp.”

Of all the looks whipped up by this beautician/stylist, Samiya’s personal favourite “has got to be a tie between No Nonsense Nighat by Generation and the Sana Safinaz ‘Message from the East’! Both looks were beautiful, quirky and true to our aesthetic as Pakistanis,” she quipped.

Hair trends that stood out at FPW S/S ‘19 have to be the loosely tied, dreamy updos which are also the most practical to achieve; while makeup wise the fresh dewy look with a simple liner of any bright colour ruled the runway. This was created by using a lot of makeup products by Mac, Anastasia Beverly Hills, Charlotte Tillbury and Kryolan which suits our skin very well.

Analysing the international fashion scene Samiya enthused, “The international ramp is oozing with bright pops of colours! Yellow, turquoise, orange, pink they’re all the main components of a funky eye makeup nowadays! A lot of colour blocking – there’s not one colour but a mix of solid colours donned in one look, be it outfits or makeup.”

As for the current trends in hair and makeup she added, “There’s a lot of cool pins and broaches being incorporated in hairstyles nowadays. High street brands have also caught on to that trend and now offer some amazing hair clips to even tuck back a loose hairstyle. With makeup, I’d say, it’s a fresh and clean look with a pop of colour on the eyelids, be it an eyeshadow or eyeliner.”

From the beauty perspective, we witnessed a fresh look in this year’s edition of FPW. The main reason being the young and quirky Samiya, who had, for the first time, handled a fashion week independently.

“Growing up with my mother (Saba Ansari) and being an integral part of the beauty business, I have been lucky enough to experience the backstage rush and intensity, which I have to say has helped me groom into a very calm person around all the madness on sets and backstage. As much as I was nervous about leading the show solely, all by myself, I was equally excited and very confident that I would be able to carry it with ease and the final outcome would be great, rather than good. I love a challenging crowd and setting… it brings the best out of me. I’m looking forward to leading a lot more of these fashion weeks,” she signed off.