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Designer Hussain Rehar recently showcased a fashion exhibit in Cannes, during the Cannes Film Festival. It is veritably the most exciting time of the year for the city, with the crème de la crème of fashion and entertainment from around the world attending film screenings, parties and after-parties and walking the famed Cannes Film Festival red carpet. Rehar did the same — he walked the red carpet, attended a film screening, dressed actor Sanam Saeed, who was there with him, and staged an exhibition at Chateau Saint George.

He also looked great while doing it.

One could write about what Saeed wore and the exhibit — and I will be doing that — but an analysis can also be dedicated solely to Rehar and how he can always be counted on to put his best fashion foot forward.

From a tapered ivory sherwani amplified by an emerald grand Imam Zamin, to another one in pink, paired with a chooridar; a fitted angarkha-jacket hybrid paired with balloon pants and then, for an after-party, a tailored jacket and pant set in ivory, Rehar’s outfits were all over social media. Saeed is one of Pakistan’s finest actors and she looked gorgeous, but even while she dazzled, you paused your online scrolling for a bit to zoom in on what Rehar wore.

There is grit beyond the glamour, of course. It was hard to track Rehar down post-Cannes, because he is taking a break and spending quite a bit of time sleeping.

“I only found out that I would be going to Cannes two weeks before the event,” he told me. “For 15 days, I was busy with preparations. My craftsmen worked day and night and then, I was in Cannes with Sanam for just two and a half days. We created so many different looks for her and I would be there, helping with the styling and making sure the fits were just right. I also had my exhibit. It was great but also exhausting.”

Saeed wore many of Rehar’s archival pieces, seen previously in his fashion shows and exhibits. Why then did he and his crew have to work day and night to get the outfits ready? “The outfit that Sanam wore at the main event was made from scratch,” explained Rehar, referring to the layered, exaggerated peacock dress that was worn by the actor.

Paired with an embroidered floral dupatta, Saeed accessorised the look with a simple teeka and gajras in her hair. “When I found out that Sanam would be walking the red carpet, I decided that this look would be perfect for her. She has the height and physique to carry off an elaborate design like this one. The floral dress that Sanam wore was also custom-made especially for her,” he said.

“The other outfits were from my past collections but they had to be tweaked. The green sari with mukesh work on it is from my Nargis line, worn by Eman Suleman in the show. We stitched a new blouse for Sanam, made a potli for accessorising the look and added big tassels. The sherwani and the long black dress with metal embellishments were both from the Jeevan by Hussain Rehar line.”

His exhibit, titled ‘A knot in South Asia’s loom’ and described, on the designer’s official Instagram page, as “a decolonisation of fashion’s origin story told through Lahore, craftsmanship and South Asian authorship”, also featured designs from his Nargis collection.

The clothes had recently been in the designer’s solo showcase in Lahore and he selected particular outfits to take with him to Cannes. “I wanted the clothes to represent the inherent beauty of Pakistan’s craftsmanship and the various techniques utilised by artisans in Lahore. These clothes were all created painstakingly, with workmen spending hours perfecting the embroideries. I wanted the world to see this,” he said.

It all looked gorgeous on social media but at the same time, Rehar and Saeed’s Cannes jaunt has led to conjecture.

It is no secret that attendance at the Cannes Film Festival can now be purchased, with different packages offering a selection of options — in fact, other Pakistani celebrities and a plethora of Indian stars also attended the event this year. You can attend a film screening, go to an ‘exclusive’ after-party, walk the red carpet, host a fashion exhibit and your interview can be featured in ‘exclusive’ publications in return for a hefty renumeration (this is not one of those interviews, mind you).

Keeping that in mind, one wonders how Rehar’s Cannes attendance came about.

“I was contacted by a media company called Us Studios and I felt that it would be a great opportunity to build my brand’s international image,” explained Rehar. “They asked me to suggest Pakistani actresses who could attend the festival with me and out of all the names that I suggested, Sanam got approved. I did pay for the exhibit, which also gave me access to attend a film screening, but I was assisted by Us Studios with the arrangements. After showcasing in Paris during Paris Fashion Week, I thought that this would be exciting territory for my brand.”

News reports stated that Rehar’s collection was “presented alongside luxury houses such as Gucci and Roberto Cavalli, showcasing Pakistan as a source of fashion, craft and cultural inspiration”. Why didn’t we see these other prestigious exhibits in the photographs shared on social media of Rehar’s showcase? The answer for this comes from Husaan ‘Huss’ Khan, founder of Us Studios.

“It [Cannes] is essentially a film festival, of course, but major fashion brands from around the world do set up exhibits and showcases around the same time as the main events. These exhibits take place at different locations. For Hussain, the venue was the Chateau Saint George. It was exciting to see so many people come and see the exhibit. Indian actor Taha Shah of Heeramandi fame was there, as were some members from actress Heidi Klum’s family.”

Images from the Gucci and Cavalli exhibits being discussed could not be found online at the time this article was written.

What we do, however, see — and cheer for — is Rehar’s showcase.

Stately mannequins wearing a peplum shirt, a glittering, embellished lehnga, an elaborate jacket, a heavy duty embellished dupatta. And alongside them Sanam Saeed and Hussain Rehar looking glamorous.

There were frequent critiques on the Internet that Saeed’s clothes were not an apt sartorial representation of Pakistan but I would like to beg to differ here. The silhouettes and the embellishments were Pakistani and the looks represented a Pakistani designer’s vision, in collaboration with Saeed, on what would work for attending events taking place during one of the world’s most celebrated film festivals.

This should be Pakistani enough to appease critics.

While attendance at the Cannes Film Festival may be up for purchase, designers pay similar participation fees to showcase at fashion weeks. When a designer hosts a solo show, they invest a sizeable sum into the event.

Rehar’s trip, as he has clarified, was made possible with the help of an international media company (Us Studios), and even though he did pay for his exhibit, this is a representation of his vision for his brand. If a designer chooses to strengthen their global footprint, investing not just in local fashion shows but also in international exhibits and shows, should this not be something to applaud?

And if that designer, accompanied by one of the country’s most well-known actors, does all this in a very classy way, curating looks that ooze glamor, the social media buzz it generates is only inevitable. One hopes that Rehar — who has wrapped up merely 10 years as a designer — continues to build his brand’s international image while not losing focus on the local market.

Another point of skepticism concerning the recent Cannes attendance was Saeed dedicating her visit to celebrated director, producer and actor Begum Shamim Ara.

In a beautifully-worded video, Sanam spoke about Shamim Ara’s many contributions and her lasting impact paving the way for female artists in Pakistan.

“She proved a woman can stand in front of a camera, sit in a producer’s seat, and call action from a director’s chair. She never got an invitation to Cannes, but her work made mine possible,” she said.

In a later post, Saeed shared a picture of Shamim Ara wearing green accompanied by images of herself in Cannes in green. “Here’s to you Begum Shamim Ara,” she had written in the caption.

It was reported that Saeed was the inaugural honouree of the South Asian Women Excellence in Cinema and Arts initiative launched by Us Studios. In an emotional caption, she had written, “I didn’t go as an ambassador for a brand, I didn’t go as part of a film team, I went just as a South Asian woman representing Pakistan and our heritage and craft. I told you I’d walk for the women of Pakistan, for the ones who came before us, for the ones who are yet to come and for the ones are never seen behind the scenes.”

“Sanam’s film was not screening at the festival so she was not officially invited by the festival itself. However, celebrities from all around the world are also pitched to walk the red carpet and attend film screenings. Sanam has such a powerful body of work to her credit and so much credibility. When we pitched her name to the Cannes team, they approved it immediately,” explained Huss. “She did not have to pay for her attendance and she represented Pakistan with such pride, grace and dedication throughout the various events.”

However, what did the dedication to Shamim Ara involve? Was one of the legendary actor’s movies or songs screened at the venue? “That’s what we had planned,” said Huss. “We were going to screen one of Begum Shamim Ara’s movies at the Chateau Saint George. Unfortunately, Sanam was not in Cannes for long enough. She was there for two and a half days and the screening could not take place.”

This means, then, that the dedication to Shamim Ara was mainly through social media posts and by virtue of the green sari that Saeed wore in recognition of the green worn by the legendary actor in a picture also posted by Saeed on social media.

One had hoped for more.

Huss reasoned, “This is the first time we did this and it will take time to iron out timelines. Hopefully, we will be able to do more next year. At Us Studios, we do want to take Pakistani actors and designers to Cannes every year. There is so much talent in Pakistan which should be showcased proudly to the world!”

Leaving skepticism aside, this is true. With the state of the economy constantly fluctuating, there are very few sponsors with the wherewithal to invest in Pakistani talent and bring it to a global stage.

When Sanam Saeed walked the red carpet at Cannes, you saw the pictures and thought that she deserved to be there and should have been there much earlier. When Hussain Rehar invested in his brand and made waves internationally, you appreciated his vision for brand-building. When a media platform — Us Studios — suddenly surfaces and announces that they would like to work with Pakistani talent and showcase them around the world, you are hopeful.

Maybe next year, we will get to cheer some more.