And when it came to this irresistibility factor, the north zonal round of the Metrolife Fashion Show hit the mark on the head.
The competition was fierce, with 18 college teams battling it out on the ramp to secure their place in the finals. Each team selected either an ethnic or Western theme around which to base their eight-minute performance.
The designs, choreography and ramp walk that the students displayed left no doubt that colleges in the City take fashion very seriously.
The ethnic theme was clearly the pick of the day, with most of the colleges choosing to showcase traditional creations on the ramp. Several of the girls wore saris, draped in a variety of styles from all over the country. A few of the participants also wore kurtas, patialas, salwars and ghaghra cholis.
The boys selected a range of sherwanis, dhotis and panches. While some teams, such as Bishop Cotton Academy chose to go traditional with white and gold Kerala saris and mundus, others opted for a more contemporary look, preferring to showcase chiffon ‘saris’ in beige, dove-gray and other muted tones.
The Western creations were just as diverse. The boys from Acharya Institute of Management, for example, went for a funky, party-wear feel, with chequered shirts, neon-green boots and gamchas.
Other participants, however, opted for a more formal look, with sheer, lacy dresses, silk jackets and evening gowns embellished with white stones. The team from Al-Ameen Institute of Management even went for a creative, Greenday-inspired look, with the students modelling fitted black suits, plenty of eye make-up and carrying roses.
St Joseph’s Arts and Science College, which showcased a ‘Psychopath’ theme, also stunned the audience. The designs, which they referred to as ‘straight-jacket chic’, included layered creations in a combination of bright red, beige and yellow.
The glitz quotient of the evening was amplified by the panel of celebrity judges, which included Priya Nayak, the model; the talented designer Pavithra Halkatti, and actresses Neettoo and Radhika Gandhi. The judges interacted a lot with the audiences voicing their opinions on the different contestants and even answering quick questions on what it took to be good models. The vice chairman of MS Ramaiah Group R Seetharam was also present.
MSR Degree College, which modelled their performance around a sufi theme that involved elaborate headgear and heavily-worked saris, won the first prize. Coming in a close second with a portrayal of an English Tea Party was the MSR Institute of Technology, while Mount Carmel College, who’s girls modelled artistically draped saris, came in third.
