Fashion From Paris To Pakistan

Paris-based Pakistani designer Mehmood Bhatti says fashion designers from India, Bangladesh and China are giving Europeans and American fashion houses a run for their money.

The celebrated haute couture is dying out even in Paris, the Mecca of world fashion, says Bhatti, who is one of those opting for "Pret" and street fashion that is wearable.

Pakistani designers should take their cue from the international scene and evolve accordingly.

Bhatti has brought his autumn/winter 06/07 collection, combining fashion with philanthropy, to raise funds for the second time to NGO Umeed-e-Noor Foundation working among handicapped children in Pakistan.

The showing of his Zephyr Collection last year was an entertaining fashion extravaganza, by the end of which people were on their feet dancing in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.

The entertainment value Bhatti provided with funky street fashion worked very well with the Pakistani audience, the newspaper said in a report from Karachi.

This year again, the shows will be held in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Faisalabad.

According to the designer, the highlight of the show will be a performance by a Lido artiste from a happening Paris club with 200 dancers, one of whom has come to Pakistan with "our very own Big B from France," the newspaper said in an obvious comparison to Indian star Amitabh Bachchan.