 Frieha
Altaf is a contentious figure, alternately loved and hated by everyone
depending on what she does with which person at which show –
who she chooses over someone else, who she lets down, who she builds
up, who she screams at, who she helps out, what she charges, what
deal she strikes with which MNC and a myriad other reasons that
crop up frequently in an industry given to gossip and backbiting
like no other. It's a place where everyone knows everyone, people
love and loathe each other yet can't live with or without each other.
And perhaps at the very center of all that has transpired in the
history of fashion, there is Frieha Altaf.
She has always made things happen. From modeling to coordinating
shoots to organizing fashion shows, Frieha has done it all. She's
done shoots here and abroad, shows in Pakistan, Malaysia, Dubai
and at the Royal Albert Hall in London. She has managed the Lux
Style Awards, done choreography for the Carnival De Couture and
worked tirelessly to put up PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week in Lahore.
No matter how you may feel about her, if you are anyone (who is
anyone) in fashion, you will have worked with Frieha Altaf. And
when she organized an evening to celebrate 20 years of Catwalk,
they all came.
 Tariq
Amin was there. Frieha has had the longest association with him
and then a falling out that was all the buzz in the industry but
they have obviously made up – he had a party at his house
after the show for Frieha. Shahi Hasan of the Vital Signs was there
to perform – to VS songs with Faisal and Bilal of Strings.
Saqib Malik, who has used Frieha Altaf in his video for Ali Azmat's
'Na Re Na'; Imran Aslam who did the voiceover for the introduction
to the show, and has often written scripts and done voiceovers for
Frieha. Mujahid Hamid, ex-Chairman Unilever whom Frieha credits
with mentoring her. Musharraf Hai, who currently heads L'Oreal in
Pakistan and under whose tenure at Unilever, the Lux Style Awards
were launched.
Sana and Safinaz came to support an old friend who organised their
historic lawn exhibition this year, Deepak Perwani was there whose
first breakthrough fashion show was done by Frieha Altaf. As was
Shehryar Ahmed, the super savvy manager of the Junoon enterprise.
Frieha has delved into music too; she featured in the video for
the instrumental 'Heer' from their first album. Nabila, who has
just done a fab show of her own, came to celebrate the woman with
whom she has worked on various projects and of course to support
her husband Emu who along with Shallum Xavier was the backbone for
the musical part of the evening.
It was an eclectic gathering of major players in the fashion, music
and corporate firmament. After all, Frieha Altaf is the bridge between
those worlds.
 It
was an elegant evening at the Mohatta Palace, fitting because Frieha
has often used it as a backdrop in shoots in the days when the museum
was a derelict bhoot bangla. The stage was aesthetically set, a
single screen for a backdrop, leaving the magnificent façade
of the Mohatta intact. Hosted by the handsome Adnan Malik and the
drop dead gorgeous Mahirah Askari looking resplendent in a Shamaeel
creation hot off the runway of Fashion Pakistan Week, the show rolled
on seamlessly through the fashion segments, the most magnificent
of which was the first one, that of Maheen Khan.
The woman who launched prêt in the country had been pleasantly
surprised when Frieha Altaf turned up with all these Maheen outfits
from the '80s and '90s which she had kept with loving care. These
were the clothes that the girls wore for Catwalk's 20th anniversary
show in the most poignant fashion segment of all.
And when I say girls, I don't mean any girls. These ladies are timeless.
Aliya Zaidi, who is still the most spectacular stunner on the runway
flew down from Hong Kong to model for the woman famous for making
sure models get paid after shows. The ageless Atiya Khan, Frieha's
contemporary as a model walked down the aisle with her inherent
grace. Sadaf Malaterre, now a designer, modeled for her old friend
and colleague (Sadaf worked with Frieha in the early years of Catwalk).
The gorgeous Samyra Rashid, who has given up fashion in Pakistan
to pursue a life in Thailand, walked the runway. Seemi Pasha who
had the longest reign as a model was there, as was Simi Shoro who
has kept her figure and fitness through the aerobics classes that
she gives. And the youngest model they used was Iraj who made a
mark for herself in the '90s with that bright smile, never-ending
limbs and a wild head of curls.
 The
clothes, because they were authentically from another time, had
a life of their own. They reminded one of how fashion once started
and made one realize how far ahead Maheen was for her time, making
clothes that were hip and wearable, and using tradition to jazz
up an outfit while cutting it in the most modern of ways. Maheen's
golden girls were superb and after that opening, none of the shows
could really compete. But then, competition wasn't the point this
balmy evening. Let's save that stuff for fashion weeks.
Sana and Safinaz showed their eastern wear, perfect after their
very Western prêt for Fashion Pakistan Week. Faiza Samee,
Shamaeel and Nilofer Shahid showed how well they know their craft.
Deepak Perwani came up with his Peacock collection that he has shown
previously. Amir Adnan did sherwanis; Sonya Battla her signature
stylish simplicity. Khaadi Khaas worked their drama meets prêt
magic and showed that Shamoon Sultan is mastering the art of putting
out collections alongside running his mammoth enterprise. HSY showed
his best collection in recent memory - Western prêt done in
super wearable black and white. This was the slinky sophisticated
HSY woman that one wishes one saw more of than the HSY bride. New
designers sent one outfit down the runway each, which was Frieha's
nod to the future. But the evening remained largely about the past.
I'll digress from nostalgic value and make an observation about
what was shown. The show was largely about our Mughal heritage,
how well we do finery, the opulence and drama of the East. Slow
moving girls in grand clothes walking down to songs like 'Jaan-e-Baharaan'
and 'Chalte Chalte'. It was exactly how fashion used to be, till
the prêt Maheen started became an idea whose time had come
and designers like Sonya Battla, Maheen Karim and Sadaf Malaterre
thought 'to hell with bridals, it's not what we wear so it's not
what we'll make!' That was what Maheen thought years before they
came along and she stuck to it, sacrificing a massive income for
the integrity of her style sensibility. At Frieha's show, it was
heartening to see so many designers following in Maheen's footsteps.
And I suppose the proof of the pudding is in the eating… it
was Maheen's ready to wear clothes that Frieha had collected over
the years that became the fashion highlight of the evening.
Whoever said that to be ahead of the time is the same as being behind
was obviously wrong. Great change is brought about by those who
walk the path less traveled. Maheen has done that and so has Frieha.
 The musical
part of the show started after the evening and began with the biggest
bang imaginable. Shehzad Hasan of the Vital Signs joined the Strings
on stage with his bass as Faisal Kapadia and Bilal Maqsood belted
out unforgettable songs like 'Aitebar', 'Tum Mil Gaye', 'Chehra'
and more in a medley. It was emotional and magical and made one
wish that one was witnessing the tribute at a packed concert instead
of an elegant sit down evening with dinner, drinks and round tables.
Music concerts don't happen anymore because of the security situation
and even if the Vital Signs don't want to get back together, not
even for a one off, a tribute to them would be so incredible. And
no one can do it better than Strings. The bands were contemporaries,
they've worked with Rohail Hyatt umpteen times and more importantly,
they 'get' Vital Signs songs and have the nuances required to sing
them. Faisal and Bilal will not massacre those classics like some
singers who've covered the Signs have done.
Alas, a massive tribute show remains a very distant dream. In these
times, music has suffered as fashion has taken off… instead
of witnessing traffic jams outside a massive Strings' concert, we
now witness traffic jams outside a Sana Safinaz lawn exhibition.
On came Faakhir who paid tribute to Fuzon with a spirited rendition
of 'Ankhiyaan' and then Rameez Mukhtar of Fuzon who did an excellent
cover version of Faakhir's 'Mahi Ve', then tried to do an Atif number
and failed. The Jal boys were very sweet with their tribute to Strings.
But if anything could match the spectacular beginning of Strings
and Vital Signs it was Ali Zafar.
He strode on stage with his guitar and launched into a medley of
all the great numbers by our great pop and rock icons, nailing them
all, from Alamgir to Nazia and Zoheb's 'Boom Boom' to Vital Signs
to Junoon's 'Ne Heeray' to Hadiqa's 'Dupatta'. His singing was spot
on, all that vocal training has paid off and he was having such
fun up there that his energy was infectious. It was the perfect
ending to sublime show that took one for a super stylish catwalk
down memory lane.
At the end, one wished that music had a Frieha Altaf, a person who
made it their mission to make things happen for the industry. Someone
who did one concert after another and made them bigger and better
as time went on. Someone who lobbied with the government and pitched
grand ideas to MNCs and television channels and then delivered.
Someone who has the wherewithal to bring ticketed shows back. Someone
who understands that what happens on the ground at an event is as,
if not more important, than what is shown on television.
Frieha Altaf has been a driving force behind so much that has happened.
She has fought her battles, lost some, won others, but she has kept
at it, relentlessly, passionately and sometimes ruthlessly. Love
her or hate her, the industry owes her for believing that where
there is a will, there is a way.
Well done Frieha! It's been 20 great years. It's hard to imagine
what the industry would have been like had you never catwalked.
Photos by Tapu Javeri
|
