Fantastic Five - Deccan Herald

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Bangalore was host to the regional rounds of Wills Lifestyle, The Debut which recognises young design talent in the country.

New India is raring to go! Brimming with talent, zest for work and intelligent foresight - India’s youth has arrived. And a recent upscale nationwide contest for design students held in the City, was a true revelation. Armed with their magic needles, an army of models and ramp for their battleground, 14 design students battled it out to make it to the prestigious runway of the upcoming Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week, slated to take place between March 12 and 16 in New Delhi.

Organized for the second time by Wills Lifestyle, ‘The Debut’ recognizes young design talent in the country. The winner gets to showcase his or her collection at the fashion week besides an all expense paid trip to an international fashion fair and an opportunity to work with ITC Ltd. Last year, winner Shivan Bhatia of NIFT made it to the Paris Fashion Week. This year, 200 students from NIFT, NID, Pearl Academy of Fashion and JD Institute of Fashion and Technology submitted their illustration-based design portfolios for evaluation.

Bangalore was host to the regional rounds after Mumbai. Creativity, technicality and commercial viability were the three key elements. After a gruelling showcase-and-feedback sessions, five fantastic participants as against the initial plan of three, were selected for the final round (to be held in New Delhi on March 5). All girls - the winners were Sulakshana (Hyderabad), Nithya and Shipra (Delhi), powered up further by Bangaloreans Geetika Singh and Mayuri Sarof.

Said an elated Geetika, “Shortlisted 44 candidates were randomly divided into groups with 15 each. We were sponsored by Wills to create two or three outfits based on our own choice of theme.”

Titled ‘Cultural Amalgamation’, Geetika’s collection comprised beautiful drapes in lush chiffons and suede mixes. So, what is it to design garments? “Fashion has to be practical and saleable. No avant-garde fashion for me,” said the assured NIFT student.

The jury panel comprised designers Deepika Govind, Neetu Gupta and NIFT teacher Nien Siao. Great colour combinations, impeccable constructions, neat finishes - the clothes were definitely upto the mark.