P R O F I L E
LU X
STYLE
AWARDS
2018
L
ahore hosted the 17th Lux Style Awards (LSA) on the 20th of February
2018. Dubbed as the Pakistani Oscars, the LSA was all about the stars
and their achievements. Not only that, it was a night where stars put their
best fashion foot forward and made the event extra glamorous.
After the recent sexual harassment cases that had been making rounds
on the media in the country and across the globe, LSA Planner Freiha
Altaf introduced a Pakistani version of the #MeToo movement by setting
it as the theme for the awards show. Titled #MeinBhi, the initiative
was launched to highlight sexual harassment in the industry and start a
conversation about the issue.
Following the theme, the show commenced as Mahira Khan took centre
stage reading Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poem for freedom, ‘Bol Kay Lab Azad
Hain’, this was accompanied by a sensational dance performance by the
Kathak maestro Naheed Siddiqui, who came together to empower women
and encourage them to speak up. After the performance Siddiqui was
presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her effort put in to
promote the Pakistani industry. Following this, another performance that
caught the audience’s attention during the show was Ahsan Khan and
Amna Ilyas’ performance on the song ‘Gurus of Peace’ by AR Rehman and
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan accompanied by child performers to highlight the
issue of child abuse.
The event was emceed by Ahmed Ali Butt and Vasay Chaudry, the kings
of comedy in Pakistan, who charmed the audience with their wit.
So began the first round of awards, which were for the music category.
This segment was hosted by the Maybelline girl Ayesha Omar and Ahmed
Ali Butt. After presenting the awards to the winners and a few technical
glitches, the show proceeded to the next fashion segment.
This segment was hosted by Aaminah Sheikh, lead of the movie Cake, and
Ali Kazmi, star of the superhit serial, Baaghi. It was lead by a spectacular
fashion presentation, where all the fashion industry stars, designers,
models, photographers, makeup artists were present. From Deepak
Perwani to HSY, from Hasnain Lehri to Aimal Khan, from Amna Baber
to Sadaf Kanwal, from Rizwan ul Haq to Abdullah Harris everybody who
was nominated in the fashion category made a 20-second appearance on
stage.
At the end of the segment, Freiha Altaf, who is known as the Queen
of Karachi was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in the fashion
category by social activist Mukhtaran Mai and veteran designer Maheen
Khan for highlighting the #MeinBhi movement, because it’s about time
this was done. To see Mukhtaran Mai present the award to Freiha was
heartwarming, as Mai herself was a victim of sexual abuse and that she was
being recognised for her tragic suffering and her efforts as she continues
to make a change in our society.
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