News Desk
DUBAI/KARACHI: The Karachi Bling Special Edition Session of SEP Fashion Summit culminated on a high note on Saturday 4th May, 2024. The event saw the who’s who of the fashion and related industries in attendance with names like Rizwan Beyg, Shamaeel Ansari, Sonya Batla, Shehnaz Ismail, Irfan Pardesi, Seema Taher, ZahirRahimtoola, Zhalay Sarhadi, Parishae Adnan, Tabesh Khoja, Sidra Iqbal, Maliha Rehman, Amina Khan, Neha Mashooqullah, Bismillah Pervez, Shanze Subzwari, Shaha Tariq, Humaira Ali, Somayeh Bardai, Samiya Asim, Tara Uzra Dawoodand Zarmeena Ikram seen at the Red Carpet and on the discussion panels.
After a bustling Red Carpet, the event kicked off with the national anthem followed by emcee Samiya Asim inviting SEP PR Desk head Shanaz Ramzi to welcome the guests. Ramzi informed that this is SEP’s second Fashion Summit, the first one having taken place in 2021. A special bling edition, this Summit is an ode to Pakistan’s fashion industry, to discuss its pros and cons — at a time when the industry is on the wane — with the stalwarts of our fashion and related industries participating and showing their support for its revival.
Huma Nasr, the founder, CEO,and Creative Director of ShaanePakistanthen spoke of her vision and her journey as a show director, highlighting her constant endeavours to promote fashion and music as she feels they go hand in hand and are great connectors, uniting people the world over. She mentioned that she plans to take SEP to an international level and hold another event in October. She also shared that she has opened the doors of SEP House for activities related to fashion and music as she wants to support local culture as much as possible.
Irfan Pardesi was invited as the first keynote speaker who spoke on Fashion and Technology. His insightful speech supported by facts and figures was an eye-opener for all present, and one could detect their motivation to take up the challenge of addressing the issues at hand. This was followed by the first panel discussion which was on Fashion and Textile Giants moderated by Sidra Iqbal and Irfan Pardesi, with eminent panelists Rizwan Beyg, Shamaeel Ansari, Sonya Batla, Shehnaz Ismail andZahirRahimtoola participating and giving invaluable suggestion and opinions.
Ahmed Chinoy (HI, SI,) director Stock Exchange addressed the audience next and showed appreciation of the government for Huma’s efforts to keep fashion alive and make it a thriving industry by presenting her with a Shield of Appreciation.
The next keynote speaker was Seema Taher who encouraged the industry and especially the relatively new entrants in it, to do their bit in sustaining the industry.
Diverse aspects of fashion focusing on all the various industries that fashion touches and are influenced by came up next, moderated by Maliha Rehman and with panelists Amina Khan,Neha Mashooqullah, Bismillah Pervez and Zhalay Sarhadi. The light-hearted discussion was on the various elements that affect fashionistas and vice versa.
A riveting Sufi Bling performance followed featuring Zarmeena Ikram and Inaya Kamal donning Eastern and Western wear by the House of Braahti respectively. They made a grand entry on a live rendition by the mesmerizing ZaryabSultan whose ode to cross-border collaboration represented by Nusrat Sahab and Rekha Bhardwaj was beautifully conceptualized and depicted by show director Huma Nasr.
This was followed by keynote speaker Nina Kashifwho made her address and spoke on the pros and cons of brands taking over the fashion world.
The special panel segment on Karachi Bling was up next, moderated by Tabesh Khoja with panelistsShanzeSabzwari, Tara Uzra Dawood and Parishae Adnan. The session saw Tabesh receiving a bling gift box which was a special gift all the way from Oman.
The last panel discussion was on Digital Fashion moderated by Shaha Tariq, with panelists, Humaira Ali, Somayeh Bardai and Irfan Pardesi focusing on online fashion.
The enlightening and well-executed programme ended with a Vote of Thanks by Huma Nasr and Shanaz Ramzi in which they also mentioned that SEP House is now available for all kinds of cultural events and activities.
The media partners for the event were ARY, venue partners Enigma restaurant, style and makeup partners NPro, while the show window display was by Shamaeel Ansari. Coffee Break was supported by the Italian premium café, Nova Color Café.
