The Pakistan Fashion Design Council was established in September 2006 as the only fashion council in Pakistan, with its head office in Lahore. A non-profit organization, the PFDC was conceived with the aim to help facilitate Pakistani designers. To this end, the Council acts as a mouthpiece for the industry, representing and promoting Pakistani designers at all levels, both domestically and internationally.
PFDC has established regular fashion weeks since February 2010, endeavoring to map Pakistan on international fashion week circuits, in collaboration with giant global brand Unilever and the world’s biggest beauty brand L’Oreal Paris. To date, the Council has held 5 fashion weeks & 2 bridal weeks– with attendance from high profile international buyers and media. The seven concluded PFDC Sunsilk Fashion Weeks’ have not only helped the designers who showcased at the platform but have also provided other designers, who were not part of these weeks of fashion in both Lahore and Karachi, the opportunity to meet and network with personalities from the international world of fashion and media to better build their brands.
The success of these fashion weeks helped to pave the way for Pakistan to be represented at the prestigious Federation Françoise du Prêt a Porter Feminin in Paris in September 2011 where eight Pakistani designers were invited to hold an exclusive fashion show, along with an exhibition in a pavilion at The Atmosphère (where designers can show their collections only on an invitation).
The World Fashion Organization and World Fashion Week have signed an MOU with the PFDC thereby empowering the PFDC as WFW-WFO’s official representative in Pakistan. In line with their commitment to social responsibility as a council, this April the PFDC has partnered with the United Nations World Food Programme [UN-WFP] to create awareness about food insecurity and malnutrition.
The PFDC has mastered retail by recently relocating to a bigger flagship multi brand outlet with 9500 square feet of space at Mall 1 on the Main Boulevard in Lahore where 40 fashion designers are stocking.
The PFDC is also the first Pakistani brand to have expanded into the Indian market with its own brand name and standalone multi-label retail store, representing Pakistani designers franchised by Rubaaiyat by Mini Bindra of BV’s (Bindra Ventures).
PFDC as a body is also involved in the revival of the crafts sector in collaboration with Aik Hunar Aik Nagar [AHAN]; this being of significance since 90% of the embroideries of the South Asian subcontinent originates from Pakistan. To this end, the Pakistan Fashion Design Council is merging traditional embroideries with contemporary design and styling concepts to create a truly unique product for export.
