Pakistani fashion is making waves in the West recently. The reasons are two-fold. Number one, the abolition of quotas on Pakistani textiles has opened America to the treasures of Pakistani fashion. This has enriched both cultures tremendously and encouraged an exchange of talent. The second factor has been the resurgence of modest clothing in recent years. Americans are increasingly finding tight and tiny clothing to be impractical, uncomfortable, and actually uncool. TIME magazine highlighted the emergence of tunic tops for instance.

Pakistani fashion scene is expanding rapidly in all dimensions. For one, the Pakistani fashion model pool is growing and is capturing international attention. The number of Pakistani boutiques and Pakistani fashions magazines, including Visage, Women’s Own, and Rivaaj is a testament to growing fashion world. Elegant salwar kameez and kurtas are in every magazine. Photographers like Deebees, Jimmy, and Ather Shahzed are shooting amazing mag folds. A talent pool of designers such as Hasan Shehryaar, BG, and Nikki n’ Neal has arrived. Akif is a double threat who combines photography skills with makeup artistry and has done the work for Zarmina.

The Pakistani fashion is not without its spice. There is a growing rivalry between Karachi and Lahore models that is worth a talk of its own. The Karachi models have a sense of superiority, given that high Pakistani fashion emerged in their city. They consider the upstarts in Lahore to be crude and garish in their efforts to impress. The Lahoris feel they have arrived and have the egos to boot. Besides, Lahore is the movie capital and the actresses that double as fashion models such as Zara and Iman bring their airs with them. The Karachi talents are Iraj (catwalk queen), Rubab; Suneeta Marshall and ZQ are newer popular faces. The Lahore pool has Vaneeza (the first supermodel), Amina Haq (who starred in a popular “Chicago” themed music video), and recently Mehreen Syed, who has stormed onto the scene and is to do an Indian film.

An interesting footnote about Pakistani fashion must be made regarding Amina Shafat, a top 5 model in Pakistan who has modeled for Zarmina as well. Amina has refused to do any shoots featuring immodest clothing. Despite her boldness, her work assignments have only increased!