The Jury

From an international fashion magazine editor to a leading forecast specialist,designers to industry professionals…they all arrived to judge NIIFT students for their creativity and calibre. Here’s their verdict

Outside one of the halls at the Northern India Institute of Fashion Technology (NIIFT) in Mohali there’s a queue of Umrao-Jaan lookalikes waiting to be ushered in. As they wait patiently for their turn,a little boy runs across the corridor dressed in swimming trunks and holding on to a swimming tube! Clearly,this is not an everyday occurrence. As you walk past a huddle of students holding on to project files and sheets and enter the hall,you realise there’s something else on. “The external jury is here to evaluate the students of fashion and knitwear design for their project work,” the institute’s director Vijay Sharma offers a quick brief as we notice the jury seated across a makeshift ramp and stage. And it is a formidable group that’s been asked to give their verdict on the students’ work. There’s design expert Sharad Mathur; designer Gautam Rakha of ‘Rabani & Rakha’; editor of international fashion magazine Grazia,Nandini Bhalla; designer Raman Vij; fashion trends analyst and forecaster Geeta Josie Khanna; Mohita Indrayan,director (design and merchandising),612 Ivy League; Jasleen Chopra,senior designer and merchandiser with Globus and city-based artist Viren Tanwar. While Friday saw the line-up give their comments,suggestions and more importantly marks on creations by the fashion design students,Saturday was reserved for the knitwear design department. “It’s nice to see work of new talent and I am impressed with much of what I have seen here,” remarked designer Gautam Rakha as he took a closer look at an outfit. With talk of recession all around,we quizzed him on whether these wannabe designers stood a chance to bag good jobs. “Most certainly they do! At the freshers level,recession hasn’t made any difference,” spoke Rakha who is already working on the spring summer 2010 collection which he’s set to showcase at the next Fashion Week. “Then I am headed to Dubai and Hong Kong,” Rakha added.

Also squeezing in time to judge the students was designer Raman Vij who has been wooed by Japanese buyers in his first fashion week outing. “Since I have also specialised in knitwear design,I was keen on looking at the students’ work. Some are impressive but I wish they would experiment more,” remarked Vij who is now working on a more commercial collection for his next show in Dubai.

As the students walked in one by one along with their creations,the jury got busy offering their take and suggestions. “Indian fashion is really in the limelight now and it’s a great time for youngsters to be making their presence felt. I liked many collections here,” pitched in Bhalla who is all for promoting fresh designers. “We in fact have a regular column in the magazine that features a new designer in each issue,” she pointed out.

But just as much as they liked the freshness of young talent coming from the region,the jury also dished out serious professional advice. “The internet as a tool is something we didn’t have access to as much as students of today. While it’s good exposure,sometimes it results in lifting of ideas and concepts,” mentioned Jasleen Chopra,here from Globus. As someone who spearheads designs for the fashion house,Chopra looked out for the trendsetters among the students. So did trends analyst and fashion forecaster Geeta Josie Khanna who works with the international styling and forecast company Hiromichi as its principal director in India. “Today,the fashion industry has evolved in India in a big way and it’s more than just being a designer,” Khanna said. A former NIFT Delhi alumna,Khanna after working with the likes of Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan progressed to fashion media and communication. “With so many publications related to fashion entering India now,there’s huge scope. Another area for designers to foray into is styling,” briefed the lady. Hope the students are reading this!