Fashion is one field where you need to be innovative on a regular basis to avoid stagnancy and boredom… The organisers of a show held recently in Karachi, seemed to realise that as was evident in their recent offering. It was an offbeat launch of a renowned shampoo brand - its range of hair type specific shampoos with new packaging and fragrances - that we got to witness. The theme of the show was "Life Can't Wait." The evening revolved around the style icons Madonna and Marilyn Monroe, global brand ambassadors for the brand.
Who hasn't heard of Marilyn Monroe… a true Hollywood legend! At a young age she rose to stardom and is remembered in such movies as "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes", "The Seven Year Itch", and "Niagara". She dominated the age of movies to become the most famous woman of the 20th Century.
And then there's our darling pop diva Madonna! A multiple Grammy Award winning American superstar, singer-songwriter, dancer, musician, record producer and Golden Globe-winning actress who is known for the use of sexual, social and religious themes in her work. She has been dubbed the "Material Girl" and "Queen of Pop" by the media. Since her debut in 1982, Madonna has released many chart-topping albums and singles, and has sold over 200 million copies worldwide. And to date she remains a true style icon.
It seemed to be a reincarnation of these two beauts who, were brought to life by our very talented brigade of models in a short and sharp fashion presentation where each model enacted her part paying homage to the two stars. While the fun-tastic fashion presentation was proceeding on the stage, montages depicting the lives and works of these icons were visible in the backdrop.
The show took off with Mahnoor lip-synching to Happy Birthday followed by Fia who jigged to the beat of I Wanna be Loved by You. Hajra stepped in Marilyn's shoes and sang a number from her film Some Like It Hot while Tooba (again in the garbs of Marilyn) did a smooth job of Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend. Tariq Amin, the Art Director of this slick fashion presentation had conjured a different look for each girl and without creating Marilyn clones he did a remarkable job of giving each model a striking Marilyn semblance.
The choice of attire for Marilyn's look-alikes was angelic white whereas dramatic black was the colour for the Madonna girls. Ammar Belal had whipped up the sexy black and white outfits while Kamiar Rokini had created the attire for Tooba and Iman Ali.
Annie Ali Khan along with dancers from the Sonu Dangerous troupe impressed all with Madonna's hit ditty Lucky Star. This segued into Fayeza Ansari, Sanam Agha and Tatmain's entertaining performance to the hit numbers Express Yourself, Don't Tell Me and Music.
And then came the moment all had been waiting for… the stunning Iman Ali - brand ambassador of the shampoo - sashayed down the catwalk in a pretty pink ball gown. Iman is the face of the brand that has launched its latest hair variants. Together with the art director/stylist Tariq she unveiled the new range of products.
The event proved to be one of a kind and was definitely enjoyed by the audience. It's time our event management outfits start coming up with such offbeat and crisp concepts for their shows.l