Fashion Pakistan Week

As Fashion Pakistan Week (FPW) 2013 took place in Karachi this month, many raised their eyebrows over the necessity of this event in the country.
Internationally, fashion events such as the New York Fashion Week or the Paris Fashion Week are effective means of marketing for high-street and luxury designer brands. The motive is not much different here in Pakistan, but the end-result of widespread sales is not as easy to achieve.
Designers vouch for the efficacy of fashion weeks in the country, as Hassan Yasin of the HSY label told Time Magazine last year, "What it does is that it gives us discipline, thats the most important thing...Without a fashion week its very difficult because there is no need, there is no desire to create and the consumer loses out."
Though Yasins words are worth a thought, the countrys fashion weeks still have a long way to go. Internationally, fashion week events are a major tourist magnet, something which local contemporaries yet have to strive for.
While buying agents from all over the group come to fashion events to purchase a particular collection, the situation in Pakistan is quite unfortunate.
"Pakistani designers do not have the capacity to produce clothing items in bulk that can be bought by international retail chains or buying agents. The lack of production capacity amongst local designers definitely puts Pakistan at a disadvantage in international markets," explained Ather-ul-Islam, Chief Operating Officer at Style 360 Labels, a leading fashion retail store of Pakistan.
He went on to explain hindrances such as power breakdowns and unannounced strikes as being barriers to enhancing production capacity, as well as a general risk-averse attitude of most local designers. Add to that the security situation in Pakistan which discourages foreign buyers from visiting the country, and the industry is put at a further disadvantage.
Retail brands such as Labels have tried reaching international markets through innovative ideas such as online sales of clothing at the same time as a model displays a particular piece on the ramp - an idea that saw the light of the day in the current FPW.
Yet, despite that, because local designers rarely come up with an entire collection and generally have a single piece made in a particular design, meeting online orders on time does become a tad difficult.
"One way to address this is to liaison designers with local mills that have the economies of scale to produce and sell in bulk," Ather suggested. In fact, Labels has brought together local mill Bonanza with designer Maheen Khan to produce an entire collection to be launched shortly this month.
All in all, while fashion weeks do prompt much media tout, such as coverage by international media like BBC or even the Wall Street Journal, they unfortunately do not translate into sales for local designers - definitely some food for thought for local designers.