Fashion forward ~ Life Stylzz

Rising fashionably Gautami, Prachi and Pankaj strike a pose with the models wearing their collection

Four students of National Institute of Fashion Technology impressed many fashionistas with their unique
creations at an inter-collegiate competition, reports Neeraja Murthy

Actress Kareena Kapoor will be definitely happy. The brand she endorses could become a thing to wear for fashionistas. V. Gautami, a third year student of National Institute of Fashion Technology in Madhapur showed how a carry bag can become a designer wear. The budding fashion designer created a dress with a green polythene bag with a little bit of smocking to make it look puffy and attached a bubble wrap for that cool look. Gautami created this design as part of a competition organised by Mount Carmel College in Bengaluru and the theme given to the students was eco-sensitivity. The contest was part of an inter-collegiate competition held by the college in three cities Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad.

“Initially we were asked to describe about the design which we would be creating for the competition,” explains Gautami. Based on that, five students from Hyderabad were short-listed to participate in the contest and were asked to create the dress. Besides Gautami, the other students from NIFT who participated include Prachi Bansal, Pankaj Singh and Priyanka Mondal. Another student Bhargavi of Apparel Training and Design Centre in Madhapur was also selected.

Gautami's choice of plastic for a fabric raised many eyebrows. Why plastic? “Plastic covers and its harmful effects are well known now. I wanted to show how one can repackage the polythene cover,” she says. However, the jury had a different opinion. “They told me that instead of a plastic cover, I should have either used jute or organic cotton,” she says.

Prachi's idea of a cocktail dress hovered around waste fabric discarded in tailor shops. “It took seven days for me to first collect the waste pieces of fabric and then make a party gown out of it,” she smiles. Her friend Pankaj created a wedding gown of waste muslin. “Wedding gowns are very expensive. I wanted to show how with raw fabric, one can make less expensive and nature-friendly gowns,” says Gautam. Of all, 15 designers and 15 models (five each from Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad) participated in the competition. Interestingly, the models, who participated in the contest – Phoebe, Lochan, Sneha and Banaja are also students from NIFT.

The trio say the Bengaluru experience was a fun and fashion affair. ‘It was the first time that we were doing a professional show. We were taught ramp walking and had to walk along with the models during the show, which was so exciting,” cheerfully say the budding designers.