Not only did students from various departments converged on the college campus to partake in the many activities of the fest, but students from other colleges participated as well. Keeping with the theme, ‘Recycle’, of the fashion show, third year students used raw junk material to design handmade wearable outfits.

Shrishthi T., a third year student from Nift says, “I was able to redefine the creation of clothing as art and not fashion for once.” Compared to last year, this year’s theme was more challenging; students were asked to create parts of outfits, including accessories that are wearable by all. Five different funky collections were showcased, with interesting titles such as, Be a hero every day, Bicycle crusade, Save life and more. “The badminton craze at Nift gave me the idea for sports mania collections,” laughs Apala Singh, a third year student from Nift.

As many as five students of NIFT Patna would take part in the eastern zonal competition of ‘Wills Lifestyle Debut Awards’- an all-India competition for final year students of fashion designing – to be held in Kolkata from Wednesday. This year the theme of the fashion show is ‘Urban Heritage’.

The five students who have received the honour of representing Bihar at the competition are: Dharmendra Kumar, Neha Sharma, Ritu, Pragati Bairagi and Manju Mehra.

“As many as 300 fashion designing students from across the country participated in the first round of competition, out of which 32 were shortlisted for the second (zonal) round,” Sanjay Shrivastava, HoD, fashion designing, NIFT Patna, told TOI. He added, “The selected 10 winners at the zonal level would showcase their designs at the final round of ‘The Debut’ in New Delhi in the first week of March.”

“The winners would be felicitated with a trophy and a certificate and all expenses-paid trip to an International Fashion Fair of repute,” said Monika Garg, director general, NIFT, Patna. “All my students would be presenting Bihar’s traditional art and craft through their designs,” said SC Jha, director NIFT, Patna.

Dharmendra Kumar, one of the selected students, would be promoting local ‘Sujni’ art at the fashion show. Ritu, who is very fond of ‘Sikki grass craft of Sitamarhi’, said, “I would be crafting high fashion garments.” Inspired with the magic of ‘mehndi’, Neha Sharma’s collection would contain intricate designs and patterns of ‘mehndi’. “My method would translate the uniqueness of this art form on to the garments to emphasize on ‘mehndi’ as an art to wear.”

Pragati Bairagi, another participating student said, “My collection is a tribute to arts and crafts of West Bengal like ‘Kantha’ embroidery, scroll painting and ‘Patachitra’. On the other hand, the garments of Manju Mehra are inspired from urban heritage of Indian embroideries. She said, “I am breaking the rule of embroideries, using white fabric and white thread for all embroideries including ‘Chikankari’, ‘Kashida’, ‘Kantha’ and bead work on ‘Chanderi’ silk fabric.”

Out of this amount, Rs 50 crore has been earmarked for financing AP State Handloom Weavers cooperative Society Ltd and Rs 10 crore for Primary Weavers Cooperative Societies.

“APCO will be using Rs 5 crore for trading in yard and the remaining Rs 45 crore for procurement and marketing of handloom cloth,” a Nabard statement said.

The bank has suggested that APCO take steps to increase retain sales, apart from trimming administrative costs and settling the dues of PWCS promptly.

The working capital requirement for weavers is a critical component in the development of weaver sector. The revival package announced for this sector by the Centre, which has subsequently been accepted by the State Government, is expected to erase the choked likes of credit flow to the weaver sector.

A total 981 students from the minority communities of the state will be entitled to rebate of full course fee under merit-cum-means scholarship scheme in 85 enlisted educational institutions across the country, the state ministry of minority affairs said on Saturday.

According to a source, there will be 870 students from the Muslim community, 104 from the Christian community, five from Buddhist community and two from Sikh community from the state.

The 85 national institutions enlisted include Indian Institute of Technology  (IIT), Guwahati, and National Institute of Technology (NIT), Silchar, in the state. The enlisted institutes in the northeast are North Eastern Regional Institute of Science and Technology (NERIST), Itanagar, in Arunachal Pradesh, National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Shillong, and Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Shillong, in Meghalaya, and National Institute of Technology (NIT), Agartala, in Tripura.

According to the ministry’s notification, 38 students, (two Muslims, 21 Christians and 15 Buddhists) will be picked from Arunachal Pradesh, 98 (20 Muslims and 78 Christians) from Manipur, 182 (10 Muslims and 172 Christians) from Meghalaya, 91 (one Muslim, 82 Christians and 8 Buddhists) from Mizoram, 193 (four Muslims and 189 Christians) from Nagaland and 48 (27 Muslims, 11 Christians and 10 Buddhists) from Tripura.

The scholarship comprises a monthly maintenance allowance of Rs 1000 for 10 months for a boarder and Rs 500 per month for a day scholar and Rs 20,000 per annum or the actual for course fee (whichever is less).

The maintenance allowance will be credited to the student’s account while the course fee will be paid by the state department directly to the institute concerned. These scholarships would be are available for studies in India only and will be awarded through an agency designated by the state government. <

Three students from National Institute of Design (NID), Gandhinagar, have designed garments for medicos which will be showcased during a fashion show at Medicall – 2012 a medical equipment exhibition to be held at Gujarat University Exhibition Hall from February 3-5. The students are from second year post graduate apparel design program.

One of the three, Devyani Lal, said, “This is part of our ‘System Thinking for Apparel’ course program where students are supposed to design functional apparels for various industries by understanding core issues, namely utility, ergonomics, costing, life cycle of the garment, impact of materials etc. We have designed these apparels after in-depth research.”

The garments designed for medicos have a blend of fibres and are coloured in azo-free dyes. “We had to design garments which do not hamper the environment when disposed off and can allow easy removal of stains. Reduction of carbon foot prints was also on our research agenda while designing these garments,” another student, Akanksha Mishra said.

The third student, Arun Kushwaha, explained that, while designing these garments, they had to keep in mind everyday usage of the same. Based on this they decided to blend natural and man-made and synthetic fibres, which would help in easy wear and cleaning as well as disposal.

Explaining how students design the apparel, faculty member Krishna Amin Patel said, the subject which has been part of the institute since the 80s gives students not just theoretical but also practical lessons. Students visit hospitals and understand the requirements of medicos, even during surgeries.

CEO Dr S Manivannan of Medexpert, the company organising Medicall-2012, said, “This is the first time we are organising an exhibition in Gujarat and already have 120 exhibitors. It is probably the first time that India will witness a fashion show of garments only for medicos. This will be later checked for its functionality with a few city-based hospitals.”

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India’s premier design school, the National Institute of Design (NID) will soon undertake a project of training and empowering rural African craftswomen through design intervention in basketry-making (BM). “To begin with, by February end we shall send a team of designers from here to Zimbabwe to conduct a need assessment study. They shall find out the kind of eco-system, in which, the artisans are working there and what’s the local market for it,” NID Director Pradyumna Vyas told PTI. The NID team visiting Zimbabwe will identify 25 craftswomen there, who would later be trained in India here, in collaboration with the New Basket Workshop Foundation, an African NGO. “The programme to be conducted here for the craftswomen from Zimbabwe, shall be a trainers’ training programme,” Vyas said adding that they are expected to come here by this year end. This one million USD project, to be launched with the aid from the Union Ministry of Industry and Commerce, aims at empowering women through skill enhancement and appropriate marketing through leading Indian brands like Fabindia. The initiative will cover five African countries at a cost of USD one million over the next three years. “Design intervention in basketry craft for empowerment of women artisans from rural Africa will be undertaken through NID’s outreach department, first in Zimbabwe, then Tanzania, Malawi, Ethiopia and Uganda,” Vyas said.

On the lines of Michael Jackson’s ‘We are the world’ or India’s ‘Mile sur mera tumhara,’ in which each song in a regional language was made vibrant with the signature tunes of renowned artists, a new song to archive folk songs of various regions across the country is evolving at the National Institute of Design. The song called, ‘Ek mitti, ek khushbu,’ will be written, composed and sung by the students of the country’s premier design school as a part of their elective course.

Faculties of NID and Rajat Dholakia, who along with A R Rahman had composed the music for the song ‘Sasural genda phool” in the film ‘Delhi 6,’ will guide the team of 15 design students.

“Students at NID had come to the institute with a purpose and the motive of this project is to solidify that purpose. The course aims to evoke the interest of students towards folk songs and train them on various ways of reviving these songs,” said Dholakia.

The process began with students from different parts of the country like Assam, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh bringing three folk songs each from their regions and sharing them with the rest of the team. The exercise rendered a catalytic effect to the students’ appreciation for folk songs.

Talking about the way in which the team is planning to go about, faculty NID Lalit Lad, who is anchoring the course, said: “Everything will be done by the students. We are just guiding them. The students have composed the tune and the lyrics are in the final stages. We will soon begin with the recording. This will also be done in-house.”

The song’s length will be about 12 minutes and around 10 different folk songs will be sung in the respective languages. While the song will be ready by January 27, the team is planning to share their work by uploading it on social networking websites.

Pune-based designer Prachi Badve, 12, the youngest fashion designer in Asia, showcased her collection at the recently concluded kiddie fashion week.

How does it feel to be the youngest designer in the continent?
It feels amazing. It’s great to be a part of India Kids Fashion Week.

You first designed at the age of 10. How did that happen?
When I was three years old when I saw Priyanka Chopra (actor) crowned as Miss World. I saw her gown and drew it on a page when I was nine and made some changes in it. That is how I developed an interest in fashion designing.

It’s been two years of working for you now. Has your style evolved?
Yes it has. I know more about fashion now. I have done five shows along with two fashion weeks with top designers and have seen their work and learnt a lot from them.

Is designing a prospective career for you, or just a hobby of sorts?
I would definitely continue to design.

Who are the designers you personally follow and draw inspiration from?
Manish Malhotra, as he has changed the whole thinking of fashion n gave it an elegant way of looking. He is the best designer.

Is it tough to handle school and work at the same time?
I really wonder why people ask this question as it’s just drawing an idea and executing it properly using creative abilities. How can it get into studies? I love school and enjoy it to the fullest along with studies.

Who do you have in mind when designing; do you consult and discuss with friends and classmates?
My friends rather consult me for style. The three things I keep in my mind while designing are style, comfort, elegance. Western outfits are certainly my forte.

India as a nation is progressing at breakneck speed and this reflects in its fashion space too, a leading British designer says, noting this country should leverage the skills of its artisans to become a global leader.

“I think India as a nation is progressing at breakneck speed and this reflects in its fashion (sphere) as well. Where India obviously leads is with the artisan approach it brings to fashion,” Christian Blanken said.

“India is a leader in beading, embellishment and ornamentation and other countries cannot copy or duplicate this; so i think India will continue to develop in this area. Also it has a massive and highly skilled labour force that is relatively affordable. I think this can power India to become a major player in this area,” Blanken said.

Blanken was born in the Netherlands and grew up in the Far East and Britain. He graduated in fashion design from Central Saint Martins School of Art, London.

Blanken has worked with some of the most iconic and successful names in fashion industry. He debuted on the London Fashion Week ramp last year with his fall-winter collection and has since then been a regular designer there.

A number of western designers like Jean Paul Gaultier and Judith Leiber look to Indian designs as inspiration for their collection and Blanken says he too does so.

“Apart from Paris, which has a tradition of haute couture, embellishment and embroideries as part of their culture, India is the only significant country with these artisan skills and has, therefore, been massively important to many western designers. I myself have a few Indian embroidered pieces in my collection every season and I regularly work with Indian craftsmen,” Blanken said.

He also added that with the way India is evolving as a nation, it will be interesting to see the country emerging as a fashion capital in few years.

“I think we will get a much better idea of where Indian fashion is heading in the next five years as it will develop its own identity with each passing day. I think Indian fashion will continue to develop at a fast pace as it is very dynamic, outward looking and ambitious; it will find its own feet year upon year,” he added.

Blanken, who defines his collection as “very clean, luxurious and a bit tough,” designs for both men and women. He believes that his passion for his work helped him achieve his goal and this is what he suggests to budding designers:

“To be a successful designer you need to have talent, of course, but also perseverance, determination and patience as it is a very difficult industry. Be sure that you are properly financed, that you have good production infrastructure and a good sales and PR team behind you. And don’t be afraid to fail because you can always dust yourself off and try again.”