This Bakra Eid, will you be a trendsetter or a sheep?

How can one look trendy on Eid?

If you’re thinking it may be by buying designer-wear, then you could be mistaken – especially based on certain ‘designer’ Eid exhibits that have been doing the rounds lately. For ‘trendy’ simply doesn’t equate to pastel shades and profusions of lace or sequins or both.

‘Pretty’ it may be – and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with looking pretty – but fashion forward? Edgy? Head-turning, statement-making style? That it just isn’t. Luckily, amongst the milieu, there were a few exhibits that managed to up the ante.

Here are some of the trends that we noticed as we traversed through multiple Eid exhibits — all the better to help separate the the 'sheep' from the true fashionista this Bakra Eid!

Look 1) Color me blue ... or indigo

Blue reigned in Sonya Battla and Body Focus Museum by Iman Ahmed’s exhibits. In Sonya Battla’s ‘Weave’, blue came in beautiful tie-n-dyes, block prints and hand-weaves. Fashioned into skirts, stoles, knee-length androgynous tunics and short cropped tops paired with voluminous shalwars, this wasn’t a collection that ostentatiously screamed ‘Eid’, and yet, created meticulously and with Sonya’s distinctive signature, it could stand out at any soiree.

Iman Ahmed, meanwhile, dabbled with easy breezy boxy, slightly oversized tunics, using fabric in distressed shades of indigo or block-printed. “This Eid is more relaxed, with people spending time together at barbecues and cooking their own food,” observes the designer. “It’s why I’ve created this collection with fluid cottons and silks and kept the silhouettes simple and comfortable. Dress them up or dress them down, the clothes can be worn in myriad different ways.”

Look 2) The Turkish touch

For women with a penchant for regal opulence, Shamaeel Ansari’s atelier fits the bill perfectly. The designer, in her just-released ‘Ottoman’ line, traversed prints inspired by the work of 20th century Turkish artist Osman Ali Hamdi. Her canvas, thereby, traverses pomegranates, prongs and from Central Asia, suzani and keshte motifs, exhibited particularly at the Museum of Cetinkaya. The prints are worked with thread embroideries and embellished stonework, akin to the kind found in Turkish garments and accessories.

Particularly interesting are the silhouettes featured in the collection. Aside from Shamaeel’s staple hotselling capes and coats of varying lengths, the designer has created cowl and tulip shalwars, off-shoulder and one-shoulder tunics and short draped-cut shirts that can be paired with pencil pants, as formal-wear, and can go just as well with jeans.

Look 3) Down with print

In a summer that has been plagued by prints, Sara Shahid’s lightly embroidered tunics in solid colors were a welcome change. Her collection featured variations in embroidery; chikankari worked over entire shirts or beige threadwork creating the borders of an asymmetric coat. And then, one came across the deliciously unconventional; a black boat-neck emblazoned with gold horizontal stripes.

Look 4) Block print it!

Block prints are timeless and so much more classy than their long-hackneyed digital cousins. At Sonya Battla’s, silks and cottons were printed with traditional paisleys, florals and ikat-like motifs. Particularly stand-out were the all-whites with delicate gold print and occasionally worked with gorgeous embroideries; a bird spread-eagled in flight or intertwining filigree.

Wardha Saleem, of course, is another designer with a penchant for block prints and her Eid exhibit featured block-printed shirts with playful hemlines, bell-sleeves and digital print appliqués. Also noticeable in Wardha’s collection were her vivacious prints showcased at London Fashion Week and Fashion Pakistan Week earlier this year, stitched into tunics and shorter tops, with light swirls of sequins occasionally added for the formal touch.

Look 5) A lacy, chikan-infused summer

Chikan was a popular option given that it is likely that this Eid is going to be a sweltering, humid one. The collections by both Wardha Saleem and Sanam Chaudhri featured cotton chikan tunics, made formal with appliqués or bead-work.

On a completely different sartorial realm, there was the Eid line by Farah Talib Aziz. The designer’s color palette was light and airy, dominated lavenders, mint greens, wedgewood blues and sorbet oranges. Having said that, there was certainly nothing casual about this collection. Taking inspiration from Elizabethan embellishment techniques, the designer worked with effusions of organza, ribbon-work and multiple layers of lace. The collection featured tapered gharara pants, elaborate bell-sleeves and tunics tapered at the chest and then falling freely.

This one may not be for people with a love for minimalism. Feminine to the core, though, it was quintessential Farah Talib Aziz.