XPOZÉ MONTHLY: NOV-2009/ 2ND ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

Click on the image to see designers showing us their love by dressing us up!!!Viva XPOZE!!!

BEHIND-THE-SCENE ACTION @ XPOZÉ NOV-2009 COVER SHOOT

Click on the image to take a glimpse of all the the behind-the-scene action at our cover shoot with actress Mona Liza!!!

ED’S LETTER: XPOZÉ NOV-2009

*2ND ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL- HITTING NEWS-STANDS ON 1ST NOV. 2009*

*PHOTOS UPDATED ON FACEBOOK GROUP OF ‘XPOZÉ MONTHLY’

…FROM MY DESK

The amount of noise and drawing room chatter that Xpozé has stirred in the last couple of years; it’s hard for a lot of our readers to believe that this month we are celebrating only our second anniversary! Yes, we are merely two years old and yet when we called around while working on this issue’s content, the initial response was invariably, “What, you are just two years old?...You guys are monsters for that age!!!”. We definitely took that as a wonderful compliment!
Nevertheless, I must say, what a journey it’s been!
As I reminisce on another eventful and fun-filled year, some of last year’s highs and accomplishments for me have been:

SEEING DOUBLE: In June 2009 we did an exposé on Pakistani jewelry designer Sara Taseer Shoaib’s blatantly plagiarizing Indian jeweler Alpana Gujral’s logo. Of course the story was made more interesting by each designer’s political pedigrees and parallels. The story was picked up by ‘Instep’ The News who accredited Xpozé for breaking the story. Both news items created a public furor with accusations and lawsuit threats flying across the border. We licked our whiskers at our investigative skills and challenged other designers to ever try copying again!

ONLINE SCAMS: After one of our Canadian subscribers bemoaned her horrific experience with a fairly high profile Lahore-based designer, we ran an investigative piece in April 2009 about how ex-pat web-buyers who bought designer wear online had been duped by a posse of other deceitful Pakistani designers. Myriad designers were open about their trade and practices and we hope that some of them learnt to be more honest and sympathetic to their foreign clients.

ONGOING BANNING: Xpozé prides itself on its objective and unbiased reportage of fashion shows, collections, trends and even personalities’ lives. This unstinting stance has not always been appreciated hence Xpozé being ‘banned’ from myriad fashion shows. Ironically for us, this was the ultimate fashion compliment as the bans only corroborated what we already knew: We told the truth and the truth sometimes stings. My mention about the banning of fashion journalists in my July 2009 editorial created an ongoing dialogue and awareness about the prickly topic.

GAL PALS: Grande dame Begum Nawazish invited me to her show in August 2009. It was a momentous occasion as this was the first time a magazine editor, rather than a politician or celebrity was invited as a guest. It was a good opportunity as we two gal pals dissected our respective industries with innuendo, candidness and laughs all the way! For this special Anniversary issue, remembering our chat, Begum Nawazish (aka Ali Saleem) sent this message to our office:
“It was great having Andleeb on my show because foremost I view her as a friend. Also jaani she has a glamorous past as a model and I admire her for her strong convictions as the Editor of one of the most entertaining magazines around. I liked her candidness. I believe a woman should always be allowed to speak her mind freely!” Thank you Begum sahiba!

GRAND AFFAIR: We were privileged to shoot our September 2009 cover and fashion pages on the palatial grounds of Acton House on the British Deputy High Commissioner’s Runnymede Estate. This was the first time any magazine was allowed to shoot on the estate in over 100 years of its existence. The results were stunning. Thank you, Robert Gibson.

TRENDSETTERS: We at Xpozé like nothing better than to pore over fashion show photographs and dissect both local and international designer collections to forecast trends. Aside from offering incisive and hard-hitting show verdicts, we were the first magazine to thoroughly highlight ongoing style leanings with added tips on how to wear them well. It’s funny, but we seem to have created another ‘trend’ with many other publications following suit and creating their ‘own’ trend pages, trend-spotters and trendsetters that we truly are!

We would also personally like to thank every one of our advertisers, designers, models, celebrities and you, our readers for believing and patting us on the back for every job well done. Your support means a lot to us.

-ANDLEEB RANA FARHAN
Write to me at: editor@epochcreatives.com

COVER CREDIT LINES:

COVER DIVA: PAKISTANI ACTRESS, MONA LIZA WHO IS ALL SET TO MAKE HER BOLLYWOOD DEBUT ALONGSIDE HIMESH RESHAMMIYA IN POOJA BHATT’S MOVIE ‘KAJRAARE’.

STYLING & REALIZATION: XPOZÉ STYLE TEAM

HAIR & MAKE-UP: ALTAF AT NABILAS

DESIGNERS MONA LIZA WEARS IN THE SHOOT: SADAF MALATERRE, SANA SAFINAZ, MAHEEN KARIM, NADIA SHAH, SIMAR DUGAL, NIDA AZWER & ENSEMBLE IN-HOUSE

PHOTOGRAPHER: RIZWAN-UL-HAQ

XPOZE MONTHLY- OCTOBER 2009 SHOOT

COVER CREDITS:
Photography: Ashish Chawla
Label: Preeti Chandra
Designer: Preeti Chandra
Hair & Make-up: Kajee Rai
Model: Alexandria & Marria

XPOZE MONTHLY- OCTOBER 2009

XPOZÉ ED’S LETTER-OCTOBER 2009

...from my desk

My favorite part of the year, summers are over. I have always loved the laziness and the relaxed mood of this season; I love listening to my friends telling me what they have been up to; mothers are always trying to keep kids busy for the vacations and every year, I try to fly off to discover a brand new destination; it’s all so wonderful.
Talking about wonderful things, I must mention that one of the best things I did this summer was to discover and read some great new-age Pakistani writers. This new breed of authors (Mohammed Hanif, Daniyal Mohiyuddin, Kamila Shamsie and Moni Mohsin) is a far away cry from the typical sub-continental writers who have, for years been only writing about identity crisis of living abroad!

One of my favorite reads though has to be ‘The Diary of a Social Butterfly’ by Moni Mohsin.
Moni Mohsin's use of the ‘Social Butterfly’ to make innocent ‘by-the-way-remarks’ about the socio-political situation and occurrences, while coyly fitting in her own obsession with the must-haves of her elitist life, are simply divine.
Our butterfly may be convent educated, bubbly airhead, but her observations are so on the mark, that they reduce the more journalistic analysis to just intellectual mumbo jumbo! This book is a must-read for every Pakistani who loves this country but also likes having a good laugh about the society around us! And by the way, did I mention I can now quote from this book at the drop of a hat!

Talking about what we did this last summer, XPOZÉ on page 16 also spoke to some of its friends (Aaminah Haq, Sara Shahid, Rohail Hyatt, Kamiar Rokni and many more!) to find out what they have been up to, what they splurged on, their vacations and what they are looking forward to! It’s a fun read!

I still very clearly remember 8th October, 2005 when we all woke up to the news of the earthquake that hit Islamabad and the many northern areas of Pakistan. After scanning news channels for hours and not getting any kind of information, we all desperately started calling friends and family to find out the reality. That’s when musician Fakhr Alam made a television plea to the nation and gave us all the ground realities of the nation’s largest natural disaster. A very tired looking and exhausted Fakhr Alam urged TV viewers to send whatever supplies they could (cash was not allowed) to PAF Museum Karachi that very same night. I remember calling a few friends to meet up outside the location with whatever they could bring. We reached there and saw history changing. On the fourth anniversary of this disaster, we speak to Fakhr Alam on page 12 about his motivation and drive behind this charity move; recounts of incidents that broke his heart and many unforgettable memories attached to this event. This interview will surely make you believe that it is the citizens of a nation that make a difference.

Talking about charities, the glamorous balls season is upon us! On page 39, Marriana Karim who is a part of many charity organizations and responsible for doing numerous charity events, talks about her experiences, life and many celebrities who have helped her along the way. On a lighter note, she also gives out the DOs and DON’Ts of attending these fun events. If you are planning to attend any of them, make sure you read her advice!

Next month is XPOZÉ’s second anniversary!!! Don’t forget to look out for what we have in store for you!

-ANDLEEB RANA FARHAN
Write to me at: editor@epochcreatives.com

Behind-the-scenes action at the cover shoot of XPOZÉ MONTHLY, September 2009 edition!

Click on the photo to check out all that happened behind-the-scenes at our cover shoot with the gorgeous Sadia Imam!

ED’s Letter: XPOZÉ MONTHLY: Sept, 2009 edition

From my desk…

We at XPOZÉ are completely overwhelmed by the unbelievable response to our 'Pakistan Zindabad' issue (Aug 2009 edition). The beautiful letters and Emails you guys sent in; the requests from so many young enthusiasts who sent in their CVs; the foreign students who want to intern with us; and the pouring-in of portfolios from young designers, models and photographers has totally surprised us! We are truly touched and want to thank each and every one of you who made an effort to make us feel special. Thank you. You truly motivate us to work harder and harder!
It's that festive time again! After a long hot summer and a much needed summer vacation, the social scene has gone back to being hyper-active! It will get crazier in the upcoming months, what with Eid around the corner, the wedding season right afterwards, the parties, balls and everything else that requires one to be dressed to kill!
When one talks about 'dressing-to-kill', the one person who immediately comes to my mind is the brilliant and super-talented Faiza Samee who truly surprises me each time she churns out a collection. She rarely shows her work on a public platform, but whenever XPOZÉ has approached her, she has put her heart and soul, and invariably comes out with a collection that leaves us all speechless! The best thing is that her whole talented family gets involved and offers their input. (Her son Jibran designed the Ikat digital- printed scarves for this shoot…a first for him!) On the fashion pages you will see a collection by this 'doyenne of fashion' that will remind you of a contemporary princess, and is bound to make you itch for each and every outfit! The icing on the cake is that we got to shoot this capsule collection with the super stylish diva, Sadia Imam at Acton House, located in the environs of the British High Commission, Karachi. And did I forget to mention that XPOZÉ Style Team is the first-ever team allowed to shoot a fashion story there?! Enjoy…because we did!
Last year, our beloved city witnessed an event dubbed 'Karachi Fashion Week', which was anything but! This year, the same event management company that organized it (Triple-e) is collaborating with 'Fashion Pakistan' (the design council of Karachi-based designers who also collaborated last year) to present 'Karachi Fashion Week 2009'. On page 12, XPOZÉ's Senior Assistant Editor, Zurain Imam tries to predict the future of this event and not only speaks to the newly appointed CEO of ‘Fashion Pakistan’, Ayesha Tammy Haq, but also to a cadre of senior and junior designers, and addresses a bunch of issues being raised by this event. It's an insider story!
On page 18, model and VJ, Annie Ali Khan who represents XPOZÉ in her new hometown New York, hangs out and chit-chats with another NYC resident, the talented director Mehreen Jabbar. It's a real girl-bonding session!
From colorful clothes, Eid-celebrating ideas and recession-friendly advice; to Eid/Ramadan-friendly recipes and behind-the-scenes action photos, this edition of XPOZÉ is packed with the spirit of Eid: Charity, spirituality and a punch of fun!

Eid Mubarak!

-ANDLEEB RANA FARHAN
Write to me at: editor@epochcreatives.com

COVER CREDITS:
Concept & Styling: XPOZÉ Style Team
Photography: Ayaz Anis
Label: Faiza Samee
Designer: Faiza Samee
Hair & Make-up: Rizwana Khan
Model: Sadia Imam
Location: Acton House, British High Commission, Karachi.

Make-up fun…

For the upcoming shadi season, if you plan to go all traditional by wearing a maang tikka at your favorite cousin’s or siblings wedding, make sure your face is balanced out by applying a darker lip color. Red lips are very ‘this’ season. For this strong look, stick to muted colors for eyes (eye shades in golds and browns are your best bet) and a very light dash of mascara.
Tikkas look best in the ‘chand tara’ shape… and the bigger they are, the better they look! Avoid wearing any other jewelry with this statement piece. And if at all you have to, then stick to tiny gold hoops!

RAMP TO REALITY!

Some women can do it and some just can’t….click on the image to see who wears the ramp to reality look right!

Global diva!

I am loving this tunic by Faiza Samee! Its easily one of the most globe-trotting pieces I have seen this season. I can see myself wearing it as a dress while attending any fashion week around the world….or maybe, even browsing through some flea market! To lounge and chill with friends, I would wear it with a pair of tapered jeans and gladiator chappals! And to attend a mehndi or shadi, I would wear it exactly the way Sadia Imam is wearing it here! Absolutely glam!

MADE IN PAKISTAN!

We all love foreign labels, but come August, make an effort to be sartorially patriotic and choose to wear and gift products that are undeniably ‘Made in Pakistan’. Here, Xpozé gives you a heavy dose of home-grown chic and lets you preen in green this month. Pakistan Zindabad!