Where brand conscious Hina Rabbani got it wrong!

Ridhima Mangal

Hina Rabbani Khar – Woah! So the luxury brands walking-exhibiting politico was here in Delhi making news and its got the fashion fraternity cynically appreciating her style and admiring her choicest of shoes, handbags, movie star sunglasses etc..etc.. Wherein the rest of us can’t get over the OXYMORON this seems to be! The fashion and trend jibber jabber around her pearls, kurtas, linens, pants, brands is for sure very interesting, but it’s funny how the focus of her visit seemed to be anything but a political agenda! Pakistani leaders in the past have been appreciated for their style and some of them have been known as fashion icons. Likes of Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Benazir Bhutto have been known for their great sense of style and their statement was a mixture of class with fashion. It’s tremendous how Bhutto was and Khar is absolutely covered from head to toe in a contemporary but traditional sort of way at the same time. Their personalities and charisma are strikingly similar that they would catch attention. Khar is a power woman with a rich vibe and she’s immaculate with her wardrobe. The fact that she is a graduate from the States and is a female politician in a patriarchal country is an achievement in itself. The point here is - that she was here to represent her country – which happens to be Pakistan! It suffers crisis of the varied kinds. The country is gripped with terror attacks and is also a breeding ground for terrorists. It also has similar problems like India of poverty, illiteracy and deprivation. Indians may be lauding her fashion and style, but should the matter of debate be her Hermes, Birkins, Roberto Cavallis, Jimmy Choos, that all sum up for some neat thousand dollars making her look like an oxymoron in the name of a serious leader who belongs to a country with issues much more grave. It is very obvious she can’t be taken for a Sarah Palin, keeping in mind that Palin belongs to US and the Indian subcontinent have a long way to go before they reach that level. Her representation as a political leader of Pakistan in that sense is sort of paradoxical. Of course there has been news of her sporting LVs, Pradas, Ferragamos across the border which grabbed more eyeballs than her international policies. She is from a rich background and that’s acceptable, but her appearance needed a little more simplicity to be in sync with the state of her country and the matter she was here to address.