A Pakistani model walks the catwalk during the first day of Fashion Pakistan Week on November 4, 2009, in Karachi, Pakistan.

Pakistani designers and models dare to bare

Hip Pakistan snubs Taliban at fashion week

There's so much more to Pakistan, it's not just suicide jackets and al-Qaeda—

In a country where burkas and hijabs are not uncommon, Karachi fashion week is exposing a fair amount of female skin.

With a riot of colourful style and a show of women's flesh considered scandalous in this conservative Muslim country, models pranced down the catwalk in couture fashion that was elegant, racy and indelibly Pakistani.

In a country of daily terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists, Pakistani designers and models are challenging firebrand mullahs and Taliban insurgents by launching the country's first-ever “fashion week” in Karachi.

“There's so much more to Pakistan, it's not just suicide jackets and al-Qaeda,” said Rizwan Beyg, a leading designer, who once dressed Diana, the late Princess of Wales. “It's defiance, sheer defiance. This is about saying, ‘They're not going to threaten our lifestyle.' We want to show the world that we're survivors.”

The four-day extravaganza kicked off Wednesday at the luxury Marriott hotel – the same hotel chain whose Islamabad branch was devastated by a truck bombing last year.

But the international fashionistas who were to attend, including Miami Fashion Week head Beth Sobol, had to be turned away at the last moment, fearful that militants might strike. The event was originally scheduled for last month, but was hurriedly postponed when extremists attacked the military headquarters and the original venue backed out.

Karachi, a city of around 17 million people, is Pakistan's financial capital and a melting pot of communities, including the largest Pashtun population of any city – the ethnic group that dominates Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan and makes up most of the Taliban.

Pakistan has a sizable textile industry, but almost all of it is basic items such as socks, underwear and towels. Fashion hardly figures in the exports.

Like Pakistani art and literature, fashion is just beginning to emerge on the international stage, with designers appearing in Milan this year for the first time.

The prize for the best newcomer in Karachi is a free slot at Miami fashion week, but Ms. Sobol will now have to judge that award by watching video of the event online.

Bare shoulders, backless gowns and pouting models are wowing Pakistan's glitterati as Karachi fashion week shows the world a different side of the Taliban-troubled nation.

While women in much of Muslim, conservative Pakistan opt for headscarves over baggy shalwar khamis or even burkas, on the catwalks of financial capital Karachi, designers are exposing midriffs and flashing cleavage.

In a country where the all-enveloping burka is not uncommon and a hijab to hide the hair or full face is growing in popularity, daring amounts of female skin were on display. Exposed midriffs, bare shoulders, plunging backlines, even modest cleavage and legs to just above the knee, were visible.

We're really sick of our image abroad. If the government hasn't got the vision, then somebody's got to take the initiative to try to change that.

Fashion week runs until Saturday, taking place three weeks late because of security jitters and as a mark of respect for more than 300 people who perished in a string of attacks blamed on Islamist militants last month.

Fashionistas in Karachi, however, shrug off security fears in the southern city of 14 million people, known for its glitzy malls and thriving cafe culture a two-hour flight away from militant hubs in the northwest.

Fashion week will showcase 32 local designers over the four-day event, with security fears keeping foreign models and designers away.

Pakistan is locked in an offensive against Taliban militants holed up in the northwest tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, which US officials call the most dangerous region in the world and the leadership base for Al-Qaeda.

Islamist extremism has plagued Pakistan for years, with the latest surge in violence blamed on militants avenging the fierce army offensives and the killing in a US drone attack of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud.

Models and designers at Fashion Pakistan Week in Karachi have one message for the country's militants: "It's defiance, sheer defiance," says Rizwan Beyg, a leading designer who once dressed Diana, the late Princess of Wales.