Mariam Pasha brings elegance to capital‘s fashion scene

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Mariam Pasha, one of the few fashion graduates in Islamabad Friday showcased her prêt line - Spring/summer collection of women’s wear.

Mariam, now an established fashion designer for 8 years works primarily out of home taking orders mostly from her clients abroad after having spent 3 years in the UK. She says she loves being back in her city and enjoys being able to cater to all sorts of clientele.
The collection was all, as she said, for her regular customers who are working women and have no time to run from tailors to lace walas and dyers. Simple kurtas and shirts with less or no embroidery but with an emphasis on the cuts and design revolving around panels and pleats. 


There was a lot of colour on display from corals to lime greens in accordance with current international fashion trends. Patrice and Ruth, praised the collection and said ‘the best thing was the reasonable price range for design and workmanship that the market has no match for’.

She said designers like mariam were beaking new grounds in shifting away from the run of the mill decorative glitter and going with international trends so when they wear the same outfits abroad they don’t look different.

Mariam stresses elegance and cuts over excessive ornation or oddness of stylicism and brings freshness to the fashion scene in Islamabad.
Seeing many mong Islamabad’s hip and happening crowd, varying from wives of diplomats and socialites, Mariam Pasha had little left for the buyers who kept streaming after sundown.

fashion designer South bay living her dream in showroom

Local fashion designer Belen Sanchez (right) and Biblia Fashion model Luna Melisa in Sanchez' showroom.


BY ASHLY MCGLONE

CHULA VISTA : Where do women in the South Bay go for chic, reasonably priced, yet customized fashion?

Local fashion designer and entrepreneur Belen Sanchez hopes the answer is her Biblia Fashion boutique on Main Street, with its leopard carpet, black chandeliers with hanging Swarovski crystals, rod iron and zebra accents  and a beauty bar.

Customers can walk in, view her samples, get their measurements taken, customize the design and fabric and pick up the item in as little as three days.

In that time she has expanded to include one-on-one makeup consultations, modeling classes for young girls and teens, as well as a jewelry and a cosmetic applicator line, a move she says has helped her stay afloat during tough economic times.



Prices for her clothing designs range from $85 to upward of $500 for wedding gowns, depending on the fabric, and jewelry starts at $10. A two-hour introductory makeup class costs $35.


Sanchez’ customers include Argentine actress Sandra Vidal, who graced the cover of Lumbre Magazine wearing one of Sanchez’ creations in 1999. Sanchez was also showcased as a Hispanic designer by the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce in 1999. She is now looking to participate in trade shows in the near future.
“I am here to cater to anybody.” Sanchez said. “You can be a size 14, 16 it doesn’t matter. We can always style a dress and help you look your best, and offer all the beauty tips you can get and should know.”
Her style? A combination of West Coast casual chic to more edgy designs, which can be customized for a more conservative flair if desired.
Sanchez designs everything from corsets to bathing suits, from cocktail to full-length dresses, often with black, white and beige color schemes. Tule is also frequently used in one of her featured collections.
Her current beachwear line offers beige mesh overlaid on top of baby blue swimwear, orange tiger-striped swimwear, and a free flowing blue-and-white sleeveless dress with a high neckline and low scooped back, as modeled by 10-year Biblia Fashion model Luna Melisa at a South County Chamber of Commerce mixer event hosted at Sanchez’ showroom recently.
Biblia Fashion has also hosted numerous fashion shows for breast cancer awareness and prevention benefits over the last several years.
Whatever the apparel, Sanchez aims to create designs that empower women to feel chic, confident and secure, she said.
Ed Herrera, chief executive officer of the South County Chamber of Commerce, said Sanchez is an inspiration to other business owners.
“I think she really reflects the true entrepreneur of South County in that as you can see, when you look at all of her stuff and you look at the passion and you look at all she’s done and how she is a one-woman show, it’s like she’s a powerhouse,” he said.
The chamber also hopes to partner with Sanchez to expand her online showroom to provide customers an opportunity to enter measurements and purchase her items online.
Lisa Bowen-Moore, owner of tech consultant company Dr. Frankenstein’s Technology, found Sanchez’ designs refreshing.
“Once you get to a certain level, certain age, you’re tired of shopping at the regular boutiques and seeing the same thing, so to be able to find simple clothes, but custom made, is really something special. It’s artwork,” she said.
The Biblia Fashion showroom is at 3130 Main St. in Chula Vista and is open for one-on-one consultation by appointment only. Information: Bibliafashion.com or 619-805-7466.

The 36-year-old South County native began creating her own clothing at age 12, using leftover fabric from her mother who was a seamstress. She has held a storefront for the last six years and brings to the table six years of experience as a makeup artist for Clarins.

Fashion Designer Corey Lynn Calter Creates "Krysten" Dress for Charity

As if Los Angeles-based fashion designer Corey Lynn Calter wasn’t making her mark already in the fashion scene with her highly covetable collection of feminine dresses, skirts and separates, now she’s doing good for the community too. 

The designer recently partnered with spunky actress Krysten Ritter to produce a flirty, yet playful, party dress with 100 percent of the proceeds being donated to Dare to Share, an organization focused on helping special needs of children around the world. 

Retailing at an accessible price of $196, the philanthropic piece features a black and white stripe jersey halter and silk flounce skirt. Ritter wore the design at a celebratory luncheon held at the Chateau Marmont this week to officially introduce the collaboration.

Girly guests including Sophia Bush, Kate Mara, Rachael Leigh Cook and Sara Rue cheerfully turned out for the event, clad in (what else?) Corey Lynn Calter from head-to-toe. 

The "Krysten" dress is available online at coreylynncalter.com. 

Who is Made in Pakistan for anyway?

By Kiran Haroon
Karachi

As the year 2011 started one found hope in looking for something new and moving into a better phase with bigger promises. But if you are in any way connected to the fashion industry your thoughts immediately went to the imminent fashion weeks. Now with the year reaching its half point we’ve already had a fashion and bridal weeks.

A fashion designer is a person that takes a theme and weaves it into clothes for a person that identifies themselves with that designer. The fashion week has brought about a newer understanding of the business of fashion but at the cost of creativity in fashion.

When a milieu of clothes bombards the ramp in an assembly line, the spark that draws one to seek creativity in fashion is extinguished. Yet again we as a nation have taken it upon ourselves to appease the foreigners that can further our business with their dollar and pound investments. Yet again we fail to realize that the consumer that will wear the shalwar and the kameez will always be in Pakistan. A designer may be technically sound to design a ball gown, dress or trousers for women but does it mean that they can understand its functions in a woman’s life?

The cost effectiveness and the exposure that fashion weeks bring remain undisputed. Young designers that may not be able to draw in a sponsor for a solo fashion show now have a platform amongst the titans of fashion with more eyeballs than they could imagine.

Our dependency on fashion week has led to the downfall of the creative and artistic endeavors of fashion designers. Where a designer puts together a collection for a fashion week the aim is to attract foreign buyers with the salability of their designs. Ready to wear and easy to wear are top priorities for foreign buyers. We, as a nation, still have not left behind the three piece suit mentality that would prove impractical and even fatal to a New Yorker trying to go to work on the L train. But that is what fashion week has done – catering to a new market whose life and requirements we can not fully understand.

This brings us to fashion shows. What a treat it was to know that a great designer was putting together a fashion show. The clothes and styling would all be creative visions of this designer and an observer would be viewing it as a connoisseur of the arts and the interpretations down to the venue and the choreography would be up to said viewer. We seem to forget that fashion is a form of artistic expression not only for the designer but the consumer. Fashion is a freedom of that expression. Fashion week is a display case for a product.

From the purveyor’s point of view it may seem as such but what of the designer? Designers would work on collections that bring into account when the bridal season strikes, namely in summer and winter and work accordingly. Seldom were collections made for the seasons, still now they aren’t. Collections are made for the marked fashion weeks that happen twice a year , at least PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week does, while Fashion Pakistan week is facing delays. If it does happen, the we would have three to four fashion weeks a year. In the running now is also Islamabad Fashion Week, that will bring up the number to six fashion weeks with two held by each major city in Pakistan.

Can designers, who are not used to the mad rush of churning out collections, salvage their creativity when meeting such demands?

Is it any surprise then that women are looking towards prêt not only for the reasonable prices but for the only fashion brands that are keeping in mind the needs of the Pakistani woman today?

To be fair fashion is for the masses and the way it is being worked into seasonal creations will be effective for the trends that can trickle down into the masses. Having a global standing in the world platform of fashion has its advantages. With the initial fervor having died down, the quality of the event should not be limited to the amount of foreign journalists that make it to the event. It still needs to be an event for Pakistanis to help the fashion industry grow and meet demands as the case would be in any industry.

That means a focus on what people will buy as designers discover soon enough. Designers like Deepak Perwani, HSY, Kamiar Rokni, Maheen Khan, Shamoon Sultan and Sonya Battla have translated their aesthetic into making clothes for desis. Those like Feeha Jamshed and Ali Xeeshan who are following in their footsteps will go a long way. Pakistani fashion has to dress Pakistan to grow and prosper. If going international is a distant dream, changing the way Pakistan dresses is the revolution our designers should really be looking at.

source: http://old.thenews.com.pk

Princess Diana's Fashion Designer Catherine Walker Passes Away

 

Catherine Walker provided Princess Diana with many of her most iconic outfits, having first worked with her three months after her wedding to Prince Charles in 1981

She fought a long battle with cancer before passing away at a hospital near her Sussex home on Thursday.

Born in France, Walker made a name for herself in Britain as one of the country's leading couture designers.

She provided Diana with many of her most iconic outfits, having first worked with her three months after her wedding to Prince Charles in 1981. The Princess was buried in a black dress designed by Walker that she had bought in the weeks leading up to her death.

In a statement, her family said: ''Catherine Walker overcame young widowhood and fought cancer twice with enduring bravery.

''She built one of the most successful British couture brands and at the same time raised a loving family. Catherine Walker has dressed many of the world's most beautiful women.''

Walker studied philosophy at the Universities of Lille and Aix-en Province, then moved to London after meeting solicitor John Walker.

He died suddenly in an accident in 1975, leaving Walker to raise their two young daughters alone.

She started studying fashion at night school the following year, selling clothes from a basket on Kings Road in Chelsea during the day, and then set up her own business.

Walker, who also designed a wedding dress for Lady Helen Taylor, was unusual for staying out of the limelight during her career, choosing not to show her collections on the runway.

Her designs spoke for themselves however, with Walker named Designer of the Year for Couture at the British Fashion Awards in 1990 and Designer of the Year for Glamour the following year.

Her family said she suffered failing health in recent years, but despite that, hand-picked and trained a design team under the brand name Catherine Walker & Co.

They said: ''With this team, she developed a portfolio of designs through to 2012 to carry forward her philosophy and the unique handwriting of her brand into the 21st century.

''She will be missed by both this team and her family, all of whom are determined to grow the brand and the legacy of this great designer.''

Walker had suffered from breast cancer and was a founding sponsor of charity Breast Cancer Haven.

Details of a memorial service will be announced at a later date, but it is expected to take place in a month's time. A private family funeral service has been arranged. 

courtesy: www.telegraph.co.uk