Movida Masala: The other face of Pakistan. By Sarah Caron,

Neha Ahmed, a top Pakistani model wearing the creation of young designer Ali Xeeshan. Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with an EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens; the exposure was 1/100sec at f/5, ISO 2000.  © Sarah Caron

My first trip to Pakistan in 2007 wasn’t planned but rather instinctive. While working on an assignment in Nepal about the Gurkha soldiers I heard the news about the proclamation of a “state of emergency” by Pakistan’s military ruler Pervez Musharraf. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was also returning to Pakistan after years of exile to contest the upcoming elections, therefore instead of returning to France I headed to Pakistan directly from Nepal. 

A few days before her assassination I went to photograph Benazir Bhutto for Time magazine and afterwards she invited me to stay over for dinner. During the dinner we were informed that the authorities had placed her under "house arrest". Suddenly a normal photo shoot turned into a scoop as I was the only photographer inside the house with her. I stayed with her, also under "house arrest" for the next five days, taking the last intimate portraits before her tragic death. 

As events in Pakistan were unfolding quite rapidly I travelled back and forth on numerous occasions over the next few years moving all over the country covering different stories for the New York Times magazine, Time, Newsweek, Geo, Paris Match, VSD, and Figaro Magazine... as well as authoring two books; Pakistan: Land of the pure (a photo book) and Le Pakistan à vif (written text). 

These photos are from a lesser known but extremely vibrant aspect of the Pakistani society: its youthful fashion industry, which I have been covering ever since the first fashion week was held there. At the moment I am preparing a book, entitled “Movida Masala” about fashion in Pakistan. An exhibition of this project will take place at Gallery Scribe, Paris, France, from 25 February to 25 April, 2014. 

Iffy (left), Pakistan's top male model, seen here wearing designer Ather Ali's creation. Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark II with an EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM lens; the exposure was 1/320sec at f/3.5, ISO 640. © Sarah Caron

Fayezah Ansari, a top Pakistani model, wearing the creation of designer Kamiar Rokni. Taken on a Canon EOS 5D Mark III with an EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens; the exposure was 1/400sec at f/14, ISO 500. © Sarah Caron

Publicado con permiso de Sarah Caron de su blog en Canon.