Strike A Pose

Published in 'Fashion Avenue Quarterly' [FAQ]
9th Edition.

By Fariha Rashed
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that in Pakistan, there is a stark contrast between the modeling industry of the 80’s and the modeling industry of today. If we sit down and try to pin point what the major difference is, we will realize, as I have, that it’s a whole new ball game now. However, whether the industry has changed for the better or the worse is another debate altogether. In the 80’s, the industry was in its infancy and had been initiated by some daring individuals. As veteran designer Rizwan Beyg points out, “Initially the fashion scene was about a lot of friends working together. People like Atiya Khan were all part of the same group of people and what happened was that friends ended up asking friends to work for each other. It was not about making a buck back then and people came across work through word of mouth and contacts”. That was a different time. Models back then came from seemingly educated backgrounds. I use the word educated very carefully here as its meaning may be easily misinterpreted. When I say educated I am simply referring to the fact that in the 80’s and 90’s women taking up modeling as a profession were not only good on the ramp and in shoots, but could also carry off a conversation if engaged in one. That is the kind of overall persona internationally expected of super models. Do the new models taking up fashion as a profession fit this bill? Do they exude that state-of-the-art super-model quality or even look like they belong on the ramp?

We have to keep into account that the modeling industry’s trends have with time transformed or rather evolved if you will. In the late 80’s and early 90’s we had models such as Bibi, Zoyla, Atiya Khan to Aliya Zaidi leading the way. They had poise and were all unique in their own right, knowing how to carry themselves and taking what they were doing seriously. Shehzad Raza is right on track when he says “before, photographers and designers were educated and experienced in their fields. Even if they had no formal training there was no copying going on and they were all good at what they did. There was an air of professionalism and they worked with professional models as well. Now anyone gets up and becomes a designer or a photographer and therefore the models coming in are also less qualified and skilled.” Frieha Altaf who has been one of the top models in her time and currently recruits models herself [through her agency] has a slightly different point of view on the matter and states that “Even at that time there were two types of models. You either came from a good background or what we called an ‘ifi’ background. I personally was very hesitant before doing a commercial. I stayed away from poor quality, ‘pan masala valai’ offers. The ‘ifi’ models were doing all that and there were very few models that came from serious backgrounds. I kept away from the ‘ifi’ models because they gave a bad reputation to the modeling industry. Girls from good families were not allowed to take up modeling and those who did had to fight a lot of misrepresentation. I believe it is the same deal right now.” Amina Haq takes it one step further and says that “the 80’s saw no models as such. It is in the mid-90’s that modeling developed in Pakistan as it was a paid profession. Modeling has always attracted a varied kind of people.”

The 90’s saw the coming of exceptionally talented models such as Vinny, Iraj, Amina Haq, and ZQ. The advent of fashion schools in the mid-90’s also encouraged more females to take up modeling as a career. However, modeling at this time was still more or less about creating and maintaining a certain image and class that comes with exclusivity in the business. Grooming became important as modeling agencies led by Ather Shehzad and Nabeela primarily came into being. Male models also entered the arena and today we see talents such as Abdullah and Emmad Irfani making waves. Although male ramp models are paid relatively less than female models, they tend to find plenty of work in the corporate business sector and are often found on multi-national company’s billboards and in their TV advertisements. Shehzad Raza says very confidently that “we [Ather Shehzad] are the ones who introduced all the educated models in the industry from Amina Haq, to Vinny, to Iffat Rahim, to Cybil, to Iman Ali, to Nadia and even Meesha”. Shehzad goes on the express that it is therefore they who feel the pain the most when they see that the bar has gone down tremendously when it comes to the kind of girls becoming models. However, Shehzad agrees that it is an inevitable trend which is difficult to curb and the industry is suffering as a result. Iraj agrees and says that when she started out the field was tiny. There were fewer dedicated people who were only interested in fashion and had purely aesthetic reasons for joining the industry. “It’s completely different now. People want to do more now than just fashion. They are more interested in what’s happening after midnight. Women in the modeling industry have become distracted. The media is huge and models don’t eat and end up looking anorexic. Today you don’t have to do much to become a model”, says Iraj. She also insists that a girl is not measured according to her brains. So who is responsible for making sure that models are brought back on track? To this Iraj says “me just talking about it will not make a difference. Designers need to be responsible; people at the top need to be responsible. I have heard designers putting models down and telling them they are too fat. If my lot leaves the industry it will get worse. New girls don’t voice themselves. We used be particular about quality and now girls are willing to do anything. Lobbies are killing the industry. You can survive if you strive to survive. Talent has a lot to do with it and your intentions have a lot to do with it.” Iraj also hints that there is a difference between Karachi and Lahore when it comes to professionalism. “Karachi is still a little better. Take Nadia Hussein for example. She had presence and was modeling solely for fashion. Some newcomers are also good and it is my duty to guide them. Everything negative that crops up in the industry is very contagious but we try to stay decentralized and not get into that chaos.”

One can not deny that to some extent the modeling industry, along with many other industries, has become excessively commercial and media driven. Rizwan Beyg further clarifies this issue when he says that “now everything has become about money and models are doing shows to gain easy and fast cash. Designers are also commercially driven and fashion is suddenly at the forefront everywhere. Our clients are now making clothes and this is a reflection of our culture and the times we live in. Earlier there were no fashion magazines and now we have magazines solely based on fashion. There are no longer any standards or criteria for what is good and what is bad…..and this is sad.” The pertinent question arises. Does the current frivolous, glam-driven and ever changing nature of the modeling industry demand that models should be well groomed and well educated? Does it make a difference to the overall impact they exude? Frieha Altaf for one, when hiring models, does not care if they are literate or not. “I don’t give a damn about someone’s education. They should be groomed properly and should look like a model; they should come on time and take orders well. I am non-judgmental about what a model does with the rest of her/his time and I don’t care if they can speak English or not.” Amina Haq is perturbed by the insinuation that education is a criterion for judging a model’s caliber. “Since when do models have to become nuclear scientists? It is not necessary for models, actors or people in the performing arts for that matter to be PHDs. Why is it necessary for a model to speak English to be considered educated?” she exclaims. Vinny on the other hand believes that grooming and training is very important for a model. “A model needs to know how to deal with clients and how she or he does that depends on their background. Models are now personalities around the world and modeling is all about how you carry yourself. It is a good thing that more people are coming in and I feel it is the model’s own responsibility to get appropriately groomed. Nabeela has groomed models and Shehzad’s girls are also all groomed. Think of Iman Ali when she did Dawlance and now…what a big difference! A model must definitely know how to speak well.”


Say the word ‘model’ and what instantly comes to mind is a sassy, hot individual wearing great clothes and posing like there is no tomorrow. Scratch the surface and you will realize that there is a whole lot more to this species than just glamour and good looks…at least that’s what you are supposed to find under all the paraphernalia! A model is meant to be a complete persona equipped with taste, beauty, sophistication and above all else…brains! So have the modeling standards really dropped in Pakistan or are we making a big deal out of nothing? Hassan Sheheryar couldn’t agree less with the fact that fewer educated females are coming into the modeling business now as opposed to in the 90’s. “Meesha and Farheen are both newcomers and well educated. Nadia has a LUMS degree for God sakes! Those who were educated just used to shine through more before although there were uneducated models even back then. Now even models that are uneducated have been given a chance to come in and shine through and let’s give them that chance instead of insinuating that they aren’t any good”, says Hassan. Maybe if some of the influential people in the fashion world erected some modeling schools and agencies with all the money they make, it would ensure that well-groomed, educated, and trained models came onto the scene and eventually got invited and represented us abroad as well. The people who can truly make a difference need to re-invest in the industry. As far as I can see, the modeling world is fast becoming a second rate business where anyone who gets a shoot done can claim to be a model. Models such as Bibi, Vinny and Iraj etc have worked so hard to raise the standards and here we are disrespecting their efforts. With the way things are unfolding, we are only ensuring that modeling in Pakistan goes to the dogs. Everything can not only be about making money or else progress shall never see the light of day.