The promising young designers of tomorrow

The spotlight falls on the ramp and every eye awaits in anticipation as the music begins and models walk down. A roar of applause accompany the upbeat music in appreciation of the designs that were presented by the models.

When the graduating batch of the Wigan & Leigh College India (WLCI)’s Creative School celebrated the culmination of their year-long journey and announced the beginning of their professional life, those present at Tivoli Garden, Chhattarpur could not deny that these were the promising designers of tomorrow!

The evening, inaugurated by a lamp lighting ceremony, also marked the opening of a design exhibition titled ‘Infinite Possibilities 2014 - The Sustainable Statement’. Curated on corrugated boxes by Deepti Baveja, national academic head of WLCI School of Advertising and Graphic Design, the exhibition stressed on and encouraged sustainable alternatives. Gulab Saggu won the prize for ‘Illustrator Of The Year’ in this exhibition.

Soon fashion and style took centre stage as 14 young designers of WLCI School of Fashion showcased their signature collections. The fashion show, ‘Quintessence’ was the reason where eminent guests, including Mohini Daljeet Singh, CEO, Max India Foundation, fashion designers Harpreet and Rimple Narula, Alpana and Neeraj, Rajdeep Ranawat and Niket Mishra, along with jewellery designer Gognaand Swati Modo, were present.

Quintessence is a platform where the institute celebrates the creativity of its students and applauds their entry into the professional world as budding fashion designers, stylists, fashion merchandisers, illustrators and other areas of the apparel industry. The annual event witnesses a wide range of work on the ramp which is conceived and crafted by the students under the guidance of their trainers and mentors.

The collections were reviewed and evaluated by a panel of jury and industry leaders such as Jenjum Gadi (fashion designer), Sumit Saurabh (textile designer), Sangeeta Bokadia Jain (fashion stylist) and Swapna Shiote (head designer at Satya Paul).

“It was an excellent show, brought to life by our young designers. The colour palate and feel of collection came out very well in the show,” said Anoop Bhandari one of the judges as another judge and fashion designer Anish Tahim added, “The collection had an element of nuance. The young designers and their work have freshness and vibrancy.”
Those who could bring all the core elements of skill, technique, knowledge and thought won prizes.

While the award for most creative collection went to David Lalnghatzo Ngaite, Kamlesh Parrariya won the prize for Best Theme Interpretation Collection and Priyanka Raghav was awarded for The Razzle Dazzle Collection. But the ‘Best Collection Of The Year’ award went to Ashish Soni. Does the name ring a bell?

Vinay Pasricha, chairman of WLCI said, “Looking at the collection I can proudly say that the hard work and diligence of the Creative School has ensured another batch of high quality professionals. The work of our budding designers that has been showcased tonight is at par with the industry standards. The quality of the advertising
and graphic design exhibition speaks for itself and we believe that our students will continue to be recognised for their excellence in the industry.”