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Two nominees from this year’s LUX Style Awards (LSAs) are calling out the award show for the way they select their winners. Photographer Muhammad Husnain Mahmood, aka MHM Official, and model Suleman Hussain are questioning how the winners are selected after repeatedly being asked for their portfolios by the LSAs team, only to see the award in their category go to someone else yet again.

After last night’s awards, a disheartened Mahmood, nominated in the Best Fashion Photography category, took to Instagram, thankful for the opportunities and nominations over the years, but honest about how it feels to come up short despite almost a decade of fashion photography.

“But it’s disheartening to fall short every year despite the hard work I put in,” he wrote in a lengthy post.

“My only concern is that after all these years, I still don’t understand how the selection and judging process works, and it can feel discouraging for those of us outside that circle.”

In a respectful but firm sign-off, Mahmood requested the LSA team to stop asking him for portfolio submissions. “Preparing submissions takes a lot of time and effort, and based on my past experience, I no longer wish to participate. I hope this message is taken in good faith — it comes from genuine disappointment, not resentment,” he concluded.

Model Suleman Hussain also did not hold back after Yasser Dar won Best Model of the Year Male.

“What even is the criteria of [the LSAs] anymore?” he wrote on his Instagram story.

Hussain said he had sent his portfolio when the LSAs asked for it, adding, “I’ve spent six years modelling full-time, giving everything to this industry — not treating it like a part-time hobby. And then you hand out awards to someone who isn’t even a full-time model?

“If you can’t do justice, STOP asking for portfolios. This is a joke!” he wrote, frustrated at repeatedly being asked for submissions with nothing to show for it.

He went on to say that perhaps he should “find another job too now”, since “one category isn’t enough” to win an award anymore. While he insisted he no longer cared for recognition from such platforms, he found the outcome “insulting”, saying no one will stand for him if he doesn’t himself.

“When you know you deserved it, watching this circus is beyond disappointing — it’s insulting,” he concluded.

This year’s ceremony, hosted in Karachi, aimed to “Mirror the Magic” of the LSAs’ two-decade legacy. It was pitched as a renewed vision, a reset of sorts, meant to celebrate “Pakistan’s creative spirit” for the world to see.