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LAAM Fashion Week (LFW) will bring its LFW Presents showcase to Karachi for the first time on September 26 with Kaleidoscopic Karachi.
The second edition will feature Deepak Perwani, Khaadi, The Pink Tree Company, Wardha Saleem and Sana Safinaz.
The showcase will take place at the historic Nusserwanjee Building at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture (IVS).
Meanwhile, photographer Tapu Javeri will open the evening with an archival exhibition covering four decades of Pakistani fashion and Karachi’s creative history.
LFW Presents has built Kaleidoscopic Karachi around the city’s diverse cultural identity.
The showcase will bring together labels with different design approaches. These range from contemporary Western wear and vibrant prints to traditional crafts and heritage techniques.
As a result, the event will present Karachi through several distinct creative perspectives.
Maheen Kardar, Executive Director Designer Experience and Curation at LFW Presents, said the event aims to capture the city through multiple creative voices.
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“I wanted Kaleidoscopic Karachi to feel less like a fashion showcase and more like stepping into the city itself — layered, restless, colorful and full of contradictions,” Kardar said.
She said the five designers would offer different interpretations of Karachi while creating a larger picture of the city.
Before the designers present their collections, Tapu Javeri will showcase Four Decades of Fashion Through the Lens of Tapu Javeri.
The exhibition will draw from Javeri’s extensive archive of Pakistani fashion photography.
Over the years, Javeri has documented Karachi’s fashion and cultural scene through his distinctive visual work.
“Karachi is where I live and breathe. It’s also a part of my creativity,” Javeri said.
He described the exhibition as a journey through his memories of Karachi and Pakistan’s fashion industry.
Deepak Perwani will present a collection inspired by his long association with Karachi.
His work reflects his Sindhi Hindu heritage and decades of experience in Pakistani couture.
For this showcase, Perwani will focus on modern Western wear designed for cocktail occasions.
“This collection comes from what I’ve always loved doing, sexy modern Western wear,” Perwani said.
He added that the collection would focus on simplicity rather than extensive use of colour.
Khaadi will bring its signature use of colour, print and movement to the showcase.
For the event, Saira Shamoon plans to combine the Khaadi and Chapter 2 lines into the collection.
She described Karachi as a city shaped by contrasts, different cultures and constant movement.
“It’s an explosion of colour, print, chaos and a bit of glamour,” Shamoon said.
At the same time, she said the collection draws inspiration from the way different elements coexist across Karachi.
The Pink Tree Company will focus on Karachi’s textile traditions and contemporary craft.
Mohsin Sayeed leads the label and has developed its identity around traditional textile techniques and cultural storytelling.
For Kaleidoscopic Karachi, the collection will combine modern silhouettes with fabrics, block printing and bold colours.
“The Pink Tree Company’s collection depicts the beauty of Karachi: modernity blended with tradition,” Sayeed said.
He added that the collection reflects his approach to breaking conventional fashion rules.
Wardha Saleem will return to IVS, where she studied and previously taught textile design.
Her Sindhi heritage continues to influence her work.
In particular, the designer draws inspiration from Thar, Hyderabad and Sindhi folklore. Her collections also incorporate hand block printing and traditional motifs.
Saleem said the new collection would feature distinctive embroidery, fabric manipulation and modern silhouettes.
“In this collection there are a lot of embroideries which are very distinctive to us,” Saleem said.
She described the collection as earthy and strongly rooted in craft.
Sana Safinaz will present Mastaani, a 20-piece heritage collection.
Founded in 1989, the fashion house has played a significant role in Pakistan’s fashion industry for more than three decades.
For this edition, Sana Hashwani said Mastaani combines modern design with traditional handwork and rich textures.
“Our Mastaani line is a heritage line. We are inherently modernist,” Hashwani said.
She added that the collection would feature strong colours, detailed textures and a cinematic quality.
The historic Nusserwanjee Building will provide the setting for the event.
The building carries architectural and cultural links to Karachi’s Parsi heritage.
Originally located in Kharadar, the structure underwent a careful relocation to the IVS campus.
IVS architecture students dismantled and rebuilt the building stone by stone, preserving an important part of old Karachi.
Today, the historic structure combines its original character with a new role within a contemporary educational setting.
Therefore, the venue itself forms an important part of the showcase’s creative identity.
LFW Presents operates as LAAM Fashion Week’s year-round, invitation-led showcase format.
The platform aims to take fashion beyond traditional seasonal calendars by placing designers in distinctive cultural spaces.
In addition, each edition combines fashion, venue and creative direction to create a site-specific experience.
Kaleidoscopic Karachi marks the format’s second edition and its first outside Lahore.
LAAM and Design651 serve as co-founders of LFW.
Talking Point handles PR and strategic communications, while Nubain Ali serves as event director.
CKO Event Architecture will support production with Nubain Ali. Nabila’s will handle hair and makeup, while ZINC Talent will manage models and talent.
Finally, Prime Productions will handle photography and videography.
