Pakistan Fashion Week News Amir Adnan News

At the cross roads
Amir Adnan’s resignation as CEO of Fashion Pakistan may have temporarily derailed the council’s progress, but the new board is confident that it will be back on track before long…
Eight months after being sworn in as CEO of Fashion Pakistan (FP), veteran fashion designer Amir Adnan resigned from his post last week, and one has to say it was not entirely unexpected. Amir Adnan’s dissatisfaction with FP’s internal operations was no secret and he quoted this as the primary reason for giving up office.

“There was a backlog of four years of accounts when we took office,” Amir Adnan spoke to Pakhali4u.com Owner On Sunday in a brief interview after resigning. “The paper-work since 2007 was also missing to a large extent; I was not satisfied with the financial statements and methods of documentation. It took us several weeks to accumulate the paperwork. FP is a Public Limited Company registered with the SECP, which requires it to submit all records and audits on a yearly basis for clearance, FP’s accounts were flawless but they had not been received, recorded or cleared in the rewuired professional manner.”


While his sudden announcement may have left the board in a bit of a quandary, Chairperson Shamaeel has been quick to assure that the council will complete the paperwork and get back on track very soon.
“There has been a lot of backlog and Adnan has been instrumental in clearing a lot of it,” she said. “He has resigned but the council will perpetuate regardless. We need time to settle the documents and we will be able to give more information when the process comes through.”
Maheen Khan, the newly selected CEO, is just as optimistic about the future of the council. “We have appointed professional chartered accountants to sort out the paperwork,” she informally disclosed when questioned. ” The secretarial work was holding the council back but things should be sorted out very soon.” One has merely to glance at FP’s history to understand that while the board is taking it in their stride, this path to progress will be anything but smooth.
FP was formed in 2006 with Maheen Khan as Chairperson and Rizwan Beyg as CEO. In 2007 they informally aligned themselves with the event management company Triple-E headed by Arshad Siddiqui, and took ownership of what was to be remembered as Karachi Fashion Week. Eventually that deal broke down due to communication errors between both parties.
In 2009, FP appointed Ayesha Tammy Haq as CEO and she played a pivotal role in putting Pakistan’s first credible fashion week together. In November 2009, the council hosted Fashion Pakistan Week, which was quickly followed up by a second season within five months. Soon after, Ayesha Tammy Haq resigned and Rizwan Beyg did not participate in the 2010 elections.
Amir Adnan was FP’s third CEO and he is quick to point out that it was more than internal mismanagement that drove him to resign.
“I left the council for two reasons,” he said. “Having worked with it for several months and also having worked with the other two councils {Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) and Pakistan Fashion Week Council (PFC ) where his brand FnkAsia participated in fashion weeks} very briefly, I have realised that Pakistan is a very small market for designer products and designers capable of generating business are very few. I don’t see the need for so many councils representing a handful of people. Pakistan at best is capable of handling one council which should put designers on one platform and help them generate awareness and business.”
Keeping the Lahore-Karachi revalry and politicisation in mind, does he think the PFDC can be fair to designers from Karachi..?
“Karachi’s designers were complaining of unfairness even when they were showing at their own fashion week. The PFDC may have a centre in Lahore but it does not only represent Lahore designers. I am not taking sides here but I feel that PFDC has stronger leadership and hence more cohesion. FP has better design and production quality. If you merge the two you have a brilliant show with strong leadership, better planning and better designers.
There are too many councils and fashion weeks in the picture whereas Pakistan needs two fashion weeks and one council.
And if if the councils sincerely want to promote the business of fashion in Pakistan then this is what they should do. I see no reason why this cannot happen. We need to put an end to this politicisation.”

Amir Adnan Photo
I d e a l l y, Pakistan’s fashion industry should not have to envolve without the business brain and discipline that most obviously lies with Lahore, or the design excellence that stems from Karachi. But ideals may as well be buried along with egos and unnecessary politics that riddle the fashion industry. Under these circumstances, FP designers many of who are already showing at the PFDC fashion weeks—-should continue to show and benefit from that platform.
The council, meanwhile, should sort out its logistics and look into other responsibilities that fashion councils are supposed to From fashion schools to professional workshops, expansion of retail operations and brand awareness, surely there is life beyond the singular goal that is fashion week. having said that, with all eyes on fashion weeks, Fashion Pakistan Week will need to make an eventual comeback if the council is to get back into the picture.