Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the reigning sexiest super model of them all? Chances are, the mirror would reveal Neha Ahmed, The pretty brown girl from Lahore with the gorgeous brown eyes, a perfect ten figure and the pair of lips that can’t decide if they want to pout continuously

Let’s start with a bit about how you started out?

Around four years ago I got my portfolio done from Ather Shahzad. It turned out to be better than I had expected and it was the first time that I realized that I might have some potential as far as modeling was concerned. Shahzad seemed to agree with me and I showed the portfolio to Tariq Amin. He really liked it and offered me a photo shoot.

Nabila talks in headlines. Most of her talk revolves around Nabila the person, Nabila the professional and Nabila the phenomenon. If at all she ever talks about anything other than Nabila, then it is almost always how Nabila views the world around her. No wonder the media loves her to death. Every time she opens her mouth, there is a rippling effect in the fashion pond. There is no denying the fact that she is no small fish in the pond.

For those who do not know her well enough, these statements sound like cryptic mutterings of a megalomaniac; those who do have learned to decipher her statements. And they all vouch for her sensibility. Surely, all the encoded mutterings of a megalomaniac have some truth in them. Nabila has achieved a status where she manages to get away with verbal blue murders. But it did not happen overnight. It has taken 20 years of hard work, an ever-evolving vision and a very, very sharp and strong focus. She does not have a last name. She does not even need one. She has gone way beyond a name, becoming a brand.

What is power? Who has it? How can you tell? These are questions that have no easy answers. Ask an assertive journalist, and you’ll hear a vehement dismissal of all glamour types and the list of powerful people whittling down to a stodgy industry bigwigs. Ask a starry-eyed showbiz fanatic and you’ll hear a bubbly eulogy for all the hot starlets who in reality would not even have the clout to wangle a solo project. So the dilemma remains.

The show got bigger this year. Not only did the organizers fly out to Dubai, giving the local entertainment industry much-needed international exposure, they also collaborated with a television network, ensuring a much wider audience than our local channels could ever pull off.

Indian talent, comprising professional dancers, stage designers and technical assistants, was flown in to fill the gaps, but this year’s Lux Style Awards could easily have been better executed than last year’s programme had the picture not been overexposed to the glitter and gaudiness of Bollywood. The India-based Sony TV channel, as director and producer of the show, was perhaps given too much freedom to project it as it wanted, right from the poster at the front desk down to the silver and gold tinsel on stage.

It’s not every day that you meet someone like Tooba. Enthusiastic but not vulnerable, upfront but not stubborn, savvy but not dumb; a girl who isn’t afraid of speaking her mind and who always delivers her best on the ramp or in front of the camera. Self-assured, Tooba knows what she wants in life and gets it. Impulsiveness and diplomacy are characteristics that are alien to her nature. But at the same time, honesty, sincerity, trust and confidence are her hallmarks.

Old is gold and new is bold. Bold enough to bowl you over with everything that they do. And they do like no one can do. Here is a great tidal wave of young fashion gurus and divas that has stormed our fashion industry shores… Rocking a lot of boats and changing the scenery of the breakwater. So charged are they that they could put KESC’s Power Station to shame. They are relatively new but surely on a signing spree. So meet the new fashion police, which is lighting up our fashion world.

Designers

Usman Dittu