Fashion in Pakistan: So there, Taliban

Last update: November 7, 2009 - 11:49 PM

KARACHI, PAKISTAN - Some women strode the catwalk in spiked bracelets and body armor. Others had their heads covered, burqa-style, but with shoulders -- and tattoos -- exposed. Male models wore long Islamic robes as well as shorts and sequined T-shirts.

As surging militant violence grabs headlines around the world, Pakistan's top designers and models took part in the country's first-ever fashion week. Many designers made reference to the turmoil, reflecting the contradictions and tensions running through their society.

The four-day event, which opened Wednesday and was postponed twice due to security fears, was aimed at showing the world there is more to Pakistan than violence and at helping boost an industry that employs hundreds of thousands of people.

Many of the models, designers and well-heeled fashionistas said the gathering was a symbolic blow to the Taliban and their vision of society, where women are largely confined to the house and must wear a sack-like covering known as a burqa.

"This is our gesture of defiance to the Taliban," said Ayesha Tammy Haq, the CEO of Fashion Pakistan Week. The shows were held in Karachi, the country's largest and most cosmopolitan city, in a five-star hotel just next door to the American consulate, which was bombed by Islamist militants in 2002.

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