You know your country’s national flag carrier airline will be graduating in the fashion industry when 15 top-notch designers are participating in a face-off to design the official uniforms.
This didn’t surprise us one bit, as PIA was the first airline in the world to don local attires as their uniforms while creating some iconic silhouettes over the years. From Laila Shahzada and Chausie Fountainer’s co-designed shalwar kameez to Pierre Cardin’s A-line shirts with straight trousers, from Sir Hardy Amies’ floral dupattas to Nahid Azfar’s waistcoats. It’s been an interesting journey so far and we were quite excited to see what the top fashion houses of Pakistan will come up with.
PIA – Uniforms over the years
On March 16th, Pakistan International Airline held “Runway Collection 2015” in Karachi, hosted by Atiqa Odho, where a wide assortment of uniforms for the cabin crew, including airhostesses and stewards were showcased.
The participating designers included: Ali Xeeshan, Amir Adnan, Fahad Hussayn, HSY, Ismail Farid, Maheen Karim, Maheen Khan, Misha Lakhani, Nida Azwer, Omer Farooq, Sania Maskatiya, Shamaeel Ansari, Shamoon Sultan of Khaadi, Sonya Batla and Yasmeen Sheikh.
The idea was to create something smart that conveys a professional image and be functional in use while reflecting the spirit of Pakistan, in the words of Shahnoor Ahmed – Event Organizer and CEO of Spectrum Group.
PIA got on board six judges for the night, which included Naz Mansha, Rabiya Javeri, Seemi Iftikhar, Shehnaz Ismail, Shakil Saigol, Tariq Amin & Zeba Bakhtiar.
And the winner’s were:
Womenswear by Nomi Ansari
Caps & Scarves by Sania Maskatiya
Coats by Yasmeen Sheikh
Menswear by Omar Farooq
Our personal favorites were HSY & Republic by Omar Farooq. Perhaps in another lifetime PIA would be so fashion forward as to chose something that truly restyles their crew’s look.
