A Public Service message by Sana and Safinaz

The model looks all cool(i)e in that jazzy printed lawn with all her fashion accessories being showed off by coolies with irrelevant, and hence, obscured faces. There has been a lot of hue and cry over the latest shoot but what this particular photo shoot has brought into forefront is the marvelous, glaring and glorious contradictions of our society. The notion that most of the people contemptous, like me, at this show of glaring contradiction, are the very consumers of this sort of behavior in their daily lives is fascinating. It may, or may not be, an attempt to present the case of the filthy rich devouring resources at the expense of the poor but certainly does highlight an issue which should be a taboo. Hush, hush is what Sana and Safinaz hear. They found it appropriate to actually use it to sell Lawns? How outrageous, and here lies the first contradiction. We conveniently forget that for the last 60 years, most of us Pakistanis have lived their lives, without concern, and with a general disregard for the situation of the poor, and perhaps at their expense. The fact that somebody used the idea to sell extravagance to the filthy rich is perhaps besides the point because regardless of the photoshoot, this is still how we live our lives, if we happen to be rich in Pakistan.

This stark contrast probably shows the contradiction that our society consumes. It would have been beautiful, had it been a public service message, but guess what, it’s not, and here’s the second stark contradiction. Someone probably in a marketing department of an obscure clothing company thought that it can actually use that idea to sell Lawns. No, its not a public service message, neither are the proceeds of the sale dedicated to improve the lives of the porters. This is supposedly a marketing attempt to spur you on to leave your couch and head straight to the nearest Safinaz outlet for a Lawn bonanza. Obviously, the marketer doesn't appreciate the term politically correct much, unwittingly associating buyer's guilt to the very product he is trying to sell. Trying to use the biggest case against extravagance as a case for fashion is not just a contradiction, that perhaps only our politicians could boast of, but a lesson if you happen to be doing MBA in marketing.

Probably the much-hyped and awaited ‘trickle down effect’ is here. The poor gets to hold Louis Vuitton bags as the rich consumes fashion.