To celebrate the upcoming Pakistan’s 75th Anniversary Riwayat, the critically acclaimed global fashion production house and founder of Pakistan Fashion Week London, Riwayat held their 2-day fashion showcase at the luxurious Fairmont Royal York Hotel on Saturday June 11th and Sunday June 12th. “Lifestyle Toronto” brought 60 accomplished and emerging fashion designers including Gogi by Hassan Riaz, Komal Nasir, Zarsah with Pakistani supermodel Fouzia Aman (@fouziaaman) and so much more. Check out all the Day 1 highlights of this extravaganza and why this clearly was the hottest fashion weekend to kick off summer!
For the first time in Toronto, Riwayat’s internationally renowned fashion event showcased their designer collection at the historic Fairmont Royal York Hotel on Saturday, June 11 and Sunday, June 12th. Through dramatic runway presentations, Lifestyle Toronto brought together the best emerging and established Pakistani designers for Canadian audiences to discover and rediscover.
The Free Exhibition:
In addition to the grand runway show, Lifestyle Toronto also provided an opportunity for Pakistani vendors from all sorts of lifestyle, fashion and beauty spaces to be available to the public for free. This provided an extensive variety of of goodies to be purchased and the public definitely took advantage of that.
The Fashion Show:
Adnan Ansari the founder of Riwayat and the brainchild behind Pakistani Fashion Week London and Lifestyle Toronto was deep in preps for the show. Having his creative hand in everything that needed his finesse including hair/makeup, creative direction, runway production. During the show he talked about he along with his creative partner were just in London the week before, where they brought 20 models formt he show in addition to models from Pakistan and Toronto.
Gogi by Hassan Riaz had a stunning collection which actually he mentioned that it was his Plan B. While chatting with him, he showed me photos of his original designs which featured a stunning purple gown reflecting with a design that portrayed a woman in deep thought. But the collection was stuck at customs and didn’t make it on time. So impressively Hassan Riaz used the leftover materials in his apartment from another collection to put together the impressive line that was featured in the fashion show.
Komal Nasir brought to the forefront gorgeous textiles through her scarves, shawls, capes and extravagant ensembles, boasting an aesthetic that harkened back to the Pakistan’s gilded age.
Zarsah played around with a wide variety of pastels and muted tones with a deep focus on intricate work.
From caftans, to cold shoulder cuts and luminous textiles and more, Sophia played with silhouettes in a stunning way.
When it comes to statement cultural jewellery Hamna Amir created one show-stopper after another.
The whole evening was simply spectacular. Kudos to the impeccable production of Riwayat. Seeing such a glittery showcase is something we all needed to fulfill our stylish souls with, and with the audience running back to the exhibition to pick up their favourite look from the designers that showcased the runway, definitely added that extra energy to an otherwise fantastic Day 1 of Lifestyle Toronto!
Marriska (@marriska.fernandes) is an entertainment expert who has been creating celebrity, movies and pop culture content for digital outlets for over ten years. From reporting headline-grabbing celebrity news to reviewing movies to interviewing Hollywood and Bollywood’s finest actors and industry...