Thanks to the celebrity event planner, Mr. Aadil Saith CEO of Unusual Functions, I had the opportunity of being a VIP guest at the FashionEASTaSA fashion show 2013 held a week ago at the Dance Factory downtown Jozi. I must be honest when I heard that the event was going to be held at this location, my primary concern was my safety and of course will my vehicle be safe. I was quite surprised to discover that the Dance Factory is indeed an excellent centrally located venue thereby making it ideally suited for an urban, multicultural ambience. The parking facility was excellent and of course there were car guards on duty as usual. I think South Africa is the only country in the world where car guards are employed to look after vehicles in a parking lot thereby preventing vehicles from getting stolen. Guests were treated to a buffet lunch on arrival. Following a mad hatters retro theme in accordance with the new logo launched earlier this year, guests were transported into a world of colour with beautifully decorated cupcakes and other delicious goodies that were definitely a visual feast and brought out "the arrh factor" in most of the attendees present. I particularly enjoyed the assortment of salads, the pastas and the beautifully garnished kebaab skewers.
I must compliment the organizing team on a well put together show. The choreography was done by DJ Zuby who sat next to me throughout the entire event. He is originally from Mumbai but now resides in South Africa as he is pursuing a career in aviation.I must say that he has amassed quite a female fan following here in South Africa through his music. The clothing range that truly brought out the wow factor in me was undoubtedly the range by Archana Kochhar, an internationally acclaimed Mumbai based designer. She also happens to be a close friend of Luvv Israni who is a dear friend of mine and is undoubtedly one of India's leading fashion and advertising photographers at present. Archana's sari range was not only stylish and elegant, but her choice of colours coupled with soft flowing fabrics will surely make any woman feel sensual and beautiful. Her outfits are also reasonably priced and affordable to most people in society. Hats off to Zuri Couture for bringing this elegant range of clothing to South Africa. However, whilst many were under the impression that the Manish Malhotra and Neeta Lulla dresses were original pieces, I was quite disappointed to discover after the show that the outfits were in fact replicas of these highly accomplished designers. I had the privilege of meeting Manish during my trip to Mumbai and I also had a chance of viewing his exclusive clothing range at the world famous Mumbai based clothing store, Sheetal.
Abayaat has become more of a fashion statement within the Muslim community and has thus lost its purpose of concealment. What I seen on the ramp can not be defined as abayaat. I would classify the clothing range as jalabiyyas or Arabic Middle Eastern inspired dresses. A perfect traditional abaya adorned by women in the Middle East is firstly not body fitting and secondly it does not have high slits going all the way to the top thereby exposing the legs. Regarding the 'abaya' range there were a few styles and designs that caught my attention, but having attended numerous fashion shows and events whilst residing in the Middle East, I have come to the conclusion that overall many of the designs have been repeated with the exception of sequined or beaded fabrics replacing the traditional plain black abaya fabric.I was quite satisfied though with the clothing range by Dubai based designer Noura Sahroui. Her outfits were brought to South Africa by the Azaadville based designing house Fiza Exclusive Abaya collection.
Apart from some of the hideous shoes that many of the models struggled to walk with, the make up artists did an excellent job in giving the girls a flawless look. That's the power of cosmetics!!
The highlight or the showstopper for the afternoon was undoubtedly the little boys and girls who strutted their stuff on the ramp. The kiddies range of clothing was put together by Fatima Ebrahim of Lil' Divas Couture. I was particularly impressed with the little boys thobes.
There were also two dance segments included in the program performed by artists from the Sitara Dance Academy. I always believe that for anyone to succeed, you need to have a cutting edge over someone else. New and fresh ideas are imperative. Being an event junkie, I have watched this dance academy perform at the Image Lifestyle event a few months ago. The same dance sequence was performed at the FashionEASTaSA 2013 event. I found the dance sequences and choreography to be boring.The dancers lacked passion and enthusiasm although the song choices were excellent. Perhaps if a new dance sequence or choreography was put together, I would have enjoyed it more. The MC of the event did an excellent job in presenting the show and also interacted with the audience quite aptly thereby getting their undivided attention as well as participation. After the fashion show, guests were allowed to purchase the various garments. What really irked me was the fact that many of the outfits had no prices on them and no one could really assist with the prices in a speedy efficient manner.This I believe is one critical area that requires improvement. Overall, my heartiest congratulations to the entire organizing team of FashionEASTaSA 2013. I am already looking forward to next years event where I am hoping that its gonna be bigger and more successful than this years event.
Take note i have not posted all the pictures on my blog. For more pictures kindly click on my facebook page.
