TIMES ONLINE: A call to prayer echoed over the red carpet. The celebrity guests and socialites of Lahore lifted their diamante stilettos through the scarlet pile, careful not to trip as they showed lipsticked smiles – and bare shoulders – to the flashing camera bulbs.
Pakistan’s first Government-endorsed fashion week finishes today. There is hope that with it will disappear decades of the Government repression that had previously forced the scene underground.
“We have seen the fashion world in Pakistan evolve in recent years,” said Aamna Isani, a freelance fashion writer. “Ten years ago we weren’t allowed to say the word 'fashion’. We had to go for a ‘cultural event’ with clothes.”
Today, the Ministry of Commerce supports the festival, the Pakistan Fashion Design Council is Government-recognised, and even Pakistani TV crews happily meet gleaming and unveiled faces.
A triumph for young liberals, the event was also a red rag to those who protect conservative Islamic values with an iron fist. Inter Services Intelligence and the bomb squad were standing by to keep out haute couture’s uninvited guests. >>> Mary Bowers, Lahore | Friday, February 19, 2010
