Designers shrug off conflict for catwalk

The designers were Pakistani, as were the models.

Even the cotton from which some of the eye-catching couture was created was homegrown.

And as Pakistan's first fashion week drew to a close, the message from the beautiful people gathered in Karachi was that this glamorous scene was as much a part of the country as headlines about bombs and terrorism.

"This has nothing to do with the militants. Fashion is a very serious business and we wanted to show the people of Pakistan and the people of the world what the fashion industry here can do. It's not for entertainment," said Ayesha Tammy Haq, the chief executive of Fashion Pakistan Week.

"There are problems all over the world ... In Italy there were problems but things never got cancelled. In Britain you had the IRA bombing places but things were not put off. If there is a message, it is that we stand tall in defiance and support our country."

With the backless gowns and bare shoulders on display in Karachi, catwalk watchers could have been forgiven for thinking they were elsewhere and not in a nation where most of the women are largely confined to the house and must wear the all-enveloping burqa. Yet at the same time, there were plenty of reminders that this event was taking place in Pakistan. Twice, organisers had to postpone the event and when it finally went ahead, it was under super-tight security in a city which is itself no stranger to militant violence.

Some of the biggest applause was reserved for the designer Ismail Farid, whose collection, Salute, was introduced as a tribute to the members of the country's armed forces.

Sonia Battla called her collection Karachi Conflict. She said her clothes had been designed to reflect her experiences living in a city of 12 million people that could sometimes be chaotic and yet offered many "beautiful moments".

Unlike Paris or Milan, there were no foreign designers or buyers. The organisers had decided not to invite them, given the precarious security situation.

But many involved in the inaugural fashion week said that simply having been able to hold a successful event was itself a very positive step.

Deepak Perwani, a Karachi-based designer, said: "We, as a country, have been through so much bullshit that we don't care. The show had to go on."

- INDEPENDENT