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Khawar Riaz
 Mag4you.com gets a candid lowdown on Pakistan's fashion weeks from the man who styled the male models for both. His styling was so edgy that the boys stole the show from the girls hands down in both cities. On to the fashion professional who tells it like he sees it...
Khawar Riaz is fond of proclaiming himself to be 'creative'. I ask him what he's upto these days to which he replies, "I am trying to organize my work which is a difficult task for a creative person like myself to do." And again, while discussing the challenges he faces as a stylist, he explains, "I am my own competition. My biggest challenge is to surpass my previous achievements. For a creative person like me, sometimes when I experiment I don't realize that my work is crossing into vulgarity. So I have to watch out for that."
All these declarations would seem rather presumptuous and even laugh worthy except for the fact that time and again Khawar has really proven himself to be that ingenious, that innovative, that creative. The recent spate of fashion weeks is a case in point. Khawar was the designated stylist for male models in February this year at the PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Week in Lahore and then again at FPW2 held in Karachi in April. In a culture where the focus is almost always more on female attire, Khawar's male models traipsed onto the catwalk and stole the limelight from right underneath their pretty female counterparts' noses.
"I am a stylist for both males and females but when I was told that I would be responsible for the male models only, I made up my mind that from now on, man would be the new woman for me," he says. "This doesn't mean that I wanted to turn them into drag queens. Rather, I just wanted to them to look just as startling and alluring as the female models while retaining their masculinity. People are always drawn towards females - my aim was to make them just as entranced by the males."
 And Khawar's male models were certainly a sight to behold. From Spartan kings to Brazilian demi-gods to Beckham-esque hunks to Mongol warriors, the males were complete works of art. The make-up was dramatic, the wigs were spot-on - the actual clothes being showcased were just the icing on the cake. Khawar Riaz has always had a penchant for experimentation - a trait that worked well for him in the fashion weeks where he managed to create avant-garde looks for models in one show after another, for an entire week!
I ask him which designers he enjoyed working with most to which he replies, "I have always liked styling for designers who tried to push boundaries and experiment. For instance, I enjoyed the clothes designed by Fahad Hussayn, Noman Arfeen, Kuki Concepts and Adnan Pardesy. Working with so many designers within a span of only a few days was actually very educational. I would try to understand each designer's ideology and the inspiration for the clothes. Then I'd decide on the look that would work best with their collections. Really, it was like taking an advanced course in styling!"
In the next few fashion weeks, Khawar hopes to eventually take on the responsibility for styling female models as well. This time though, both in Lahore and Karachi, Saba, of Sabs Salon, was the official female stylist working alongside him. "I was very impressed by the way Saba managed her team," says Khawar, "They were very well-organized, efficiently working on one model after another. I, on the other hand, just had my one assistant to help me."
Since he has worked with both the Lahore and Karachi fashion councils, I ask him which fashion week he enjoyed more. His reply is very quick, very intelligent and very diplomatic, making me wonder if he's been asked this question before. "The Karachi fashion week was very well-coordinated. There was less frivolity and the main concern was expanding the business of fashion, which is what a fashion week should basically be all about. On the other hand, in Lahore, everything took on the air of a mela. The fashion shows were great but there was also a lot of revelry and partying. That's just how Lahore is," he reasons.
His views on both the fashion councils are just as tactful. "As far as I am concerned, right now both councils are on an equal footing. They are both endeavoring to make fashion more profitable in Pakistan. There are a lot of politics involved which should be left aside. They should concentrate instead on looking for buyers, selecting the right models and improving standards. A lot of mediocre designers were allowed to participate and the councils need to have a proper judging process according to which they can accept or veto collections. Also, they should make sure that the models are trained at least a month before the event. They need to be able to walk the ramp properly and they should be at least 5'9" tall."
Unlike many others in the fashion fraternity, Khawar doesn't find anything wrong with having two different councils catering to a single industry. "As long as they are all working for the fashion industry's improvement, there may as well be four different councils," he declares. "Besides, competition is healthy. It keeps them on their toes, trying to outdo the other."
Perhaps diplomacy is the best route for Khawar Riaz to take. His work with both councils in the fashion weeks has earned him accolades not only within Pakistan but also by the international media. He tells me that some of the models of his agency, Ocular, have been invited to walk the international ramp and he himself has also been approached to work in an international fashion week. "While working in FPW2, I spoke to people from American Vogue and a French publication and they were all praises for my styling technique. They said it had a very global feel to it."
 If it was upto Khawar there would be fashion weeks all the year round in Pakistan. The argument that such events should be well-spaced out doesn't work for him. "These events are actually a relief from all the turmoil taking place in our country," he surmises. "For a while now the world has associated us with gun-wielding maniacs. Now, they see our fashion shows, they see the long shirts, the drooping hemlines, the backless, the halter neck, the embellishments and the elegantly styled models and they are taken aback by the softer, more glamorous image of Pakistan."
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