Pakistani designer presents Oriental-inspired collection

Pakistani designer Shehla Chatoor, who was here Saturday to showcase her latest collection of capes and saris, said she tried to weave the magic of the Italian Renaissance along with Oriental tapestry.

The designs featured fringes and oriental screen prints.

The designer is stocking at the Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) The Boulevard, a one-stop shop for Pakistani designer wear.

Chatoor said her latest designs have both western and oriental influences.

"My designs have always had these eastern influences. What I have brought in India is eastern luxury pret where silhouettes remain a mix of Pakistani and a bit of Indian, but the prints are very oriental," Chatoor told IANS.

"Those china-cheeni prints or dolls or busy prints, or even in some designs there is a lot of inspiration from the Italian Renaissance. None of this is digital printing. They are screen prints that I have developed and produced," she added.

Mixing hues like beige with peaches, and beige with reds for her limited bridal trousseau, and fusing knee-length pale kurtis with busy-cropped slim-fit trousers, the collection is wearable and offers a balance of colours.

While use of fringes is a welcome change for fashion enthusiasts, its placement in the garment at the right place doesn't take away attention from the colour prints, the designer said.

The best of the lot was a modern sari with fringes at the end of the pallu.

"Let's admit that the way Indians drape a sari, we can't. So what I have got here is a modern printed sari with fringes, adding to the glamour and metal-mesh blouse complementing the look," she said.