The height of fashion...

It was a night where the traditional mundu metamorphosed into a style statement, contemporary, modern and stylish one at that, full with cuts and funky designs. Scrap and waste material were woven together to form a clothing with an identity all of its own.

For once the meltdown, was converted to good and fruitful times.

The Annual Design Awards ceremony of the JD Institute of Fashion Technology, showcased the best of modern, contemporary and traditional designs. It was an event where there was no hold on students’ creativity, focused as they were on exploring it and stretching their talents to the hilt.

A great deal of thought and imagination went into all the designs. The students worked around the theme of Me – That’s What It’s All About.

The show began with Lilia Jose’s creations, titled The Midas Touch, which was inspired by the handloom fabric Mundum Neriyatum of Kerala with its Kasavu borders. She used fabrics such as upholstery, mat, suede and corduroy.

The silhouettes were sleek with a fusion between corsets and jackets for the upper half and layered long skirts with slits paired with cotton leggings. The colours used were off-white, gold and silver with black, purple, green and red.

 Jagriti Girias’ Adaah collection was inspired by Alamrah — the interior versus the exterior of the beautiful Moorish castles and featured Indian bridal collection that drew away from the ostentatious towards a more subtle grandeur. 

Ashok’s Albatha collection was inspired by global warming and made a statement on the undeniable consequences of global warming.

Nithin Nair drew his inspiration from Mutation. He believes that mistakes are not always setbacks, but an opportunity to explore new possibilities.

As the evening wore on more creative and heady designs hit the ramp. Among them were Yamini T Swetha’s ‘Exchange Offer’ that was totally inspired by the current economic meltdown.

Yamini chose to paint a rather optimistic outlook to the present situation through her garments.

The collection was a blend that came across as youthful. Among the best, both in terms of the designs and choreography, were works titled, The pride and royalty of Africa by Shivan and Palanisami. His collection was inspired by the Zulu tribe of Africa. His work was steeped in the culture, rock paintings and use of natural materials like leather, beads and feathers used by the tribe.

 Rahul Dev Shetty, who choreographed the show, said that the music for the show was inspired by the designs itself.

“Music and choreography have been thought out in keeping with the designs. Every student has plugged maximum creativity, life and zest into each of their work,” says Rahul.