When fashion is passion

Jigyasa Prashar

Tantu, an exhibition at NIFT, Panchkula, featured collections of 30 students pursuing the Bachelor of Textile Design degree. These ranged from high-fashion apparel to home décor; from chic bohemian daily-wear to upcycled and recycled material, highlighting the creative potential of these young minds.

“In the final semester of their four-year graduation programme, students undertake an industry-sponsored project, which provides them with invaluable real-world experience,” said Bharti Pahuja, HoD, Textile Department. The collections focused on sustainability and modernism, with a touch of tradition. The shades varied from neons to cool, earthy and pastel shades. “The inspiration behind my collection was scraped walls. It discovers the beauty in surfaces that age, but still retain character. Therefore, I have used fabrics that have been upcycled and reused, hand-woven by artisans in Kashmir. This has also provided livelihood to local and tribal craftsmen,” shared Shreya Arora, as she gave a brief on her collection titled Petrichor’. The use of earthy colours such as pale-blue added softness to her sustainable collection.

Young guns

Jasmine, winner of the departments’ graduation project, had incorporated dabka embroidery, in yet another upcycled collection, in which she had used scraps of waste fabrics for the apparels that she prepared over a period of more than two months.

While Surbhi used cotton and jute for her collection of rugs made for living spaces, Muskan Arora showcased bright and dark colours to come up with her quirky, lively and floral bohemian collection, titled Ornate Flourishes. Chinon and Russian silk fabrics were also the top picks of these young designers.

Pramod Kumar, associate professor at the Fashion Department, talked about the their graduation project, Fashionova, comprising theme-based fashion show and display by the students. “Many of our students have collaborated with big brands. The faculty members mentored them throughout their journey, be it creative blocks or ideation for the collections,” he said.