Magnum’s Islamabad gala celebrates

Magnum’s fifth year on the fashion calendar was a lesson in events dripping in sophistication while upping the bar on combining different worlds with fashion.
Fashion and food have come together more and more over the years with the food revolution, particularly in Pakistan, leading international chefs to take up residency in the country and its own culinary background lending to delicious gastronomic creations.
Understanding the marriage of the arts, ice cream and chocolate, Magnum celebrated this union in a lavish night, aptly titled the Magnum Chocolate Party. The who is who of the fashion and entertainment world, including musicians, artists, models, designers and merely the fashion inclined with the style chops to prove it, gathered for a night of decadent creativity and, of course, yummy gratification.
The approach to chocolate and its place alongside fashion in the world of creativity and art is what has made this event a must attend on the fashion calendar year after year. Beyond the fashions that are shown on the ramp in the especially curated fashion showcase, the entire event, though heavily planned to a tee, embraces the aspects of fashion that sometimes get left out of the narrative: fantasy, transformation and whimsy. The event takes seriously both chocolate and fashion but found a way to make the combined taste one that was pleasing to feast on both literally and aesthetically.
This year’s ‘A Chocolate Affair,’ held last week, brought a guest list that could not have been sweeter with award winning chocolatier Paul Joachim, and with him an extremely literal combination of chocolate and fashion. In collaboration with highly celebrated Pakistani fashion designer Ali Xeeshan, they created a life sized sculpture of a dress made completely (from based to embellishment) out of chocolate. Paul whose nickname leaves no room for argument on his aptitude with chocolate (he’s called the Chocolate Genius) created a diverse chocolate installation that was displayed throughout the event. Including chocolate faberge eggs, trays of crowns, dramatic masks and table top sculptures.
The runway show itself was a list of some of the most innovative design houses to come out of Pakistan to date, and was orchestrated and directed by one of them, The House of Kamiar Rokni, headed by Kamiar Rokni and Rehan Bashir, and was hosted by the charismatic and stunning Zara Peerzada. The duo produced one of the most magical moments of the evening with their one of a kind dress worn by Pakistani rockstar and muse Meesha Shafi, serving as a backdrop for fashion imagery through projections lighting her up center stage. Meesha, who herself is a combination of arts with a career that encompasses singing and acting, sang (beautifully) Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good.’
The collective of designers who drew inspiration from the product of the night, chocolate, approached their collections with the artistic eye that Magnum aims to celebrate. Powerhouse Élan, sleek menswear Munib Nawaz and contemporary master Hussain Rehar’s creations hit the ramp with capsule collections created exclusively for the event. Élan’s gowns were delicious confections made of sparkles and tulle flowing effortlessly with their signature expert cuts. Munib Nawaz produced a collection inspired by chocolates varying hues from dark and rich tones to flecks of gold. Hussain Rehar seemed to bring a box of your favorite cocoa nibbles to life with textural and 3D pieces that like Munib were made in dark, milk and golden chocolates.
The night of fashion, and have we mentioned chocolate, solidified its place as a respected and celebrated platform for the industry’s creatives to bring to life not only their imaginations but inspire a touch of playful thinking in all those attending