Amity Mumbai Fashion Students displayed Graduation Design Collection
The graduating batch of 2022 of Amity School of Fashion Design and Technology displayed their creativity and showcased their skillsets in various capacities during the jury presentations of the final Graduation Design Collection. Presentations of the industry project showed thorough research and execution of their ideas. The jury comprised of distinguished members from the industry like Ms. Rukmani Harwani – Founder and Director of kidswear brand Leo n Babes, Ms. Urna Naik – Founder and Designer of Label OLEE, and Ms. Sejal Thakur – Marks & Spencer’s (M&S) Assistant Buying Manager L&B.
As part of the Industry Project, each student interned with the industry for a period of 14-16 weeks. The students’ exposure to the fashion industry was multi-faceted. From textile designers to fashion designers, print developers to graphic designers, and fashion styling & consultancy to custom designing, the students were able to explore more lucrative opportunities to gain experience. Marks & Spencer’s, House of Anita Dongre, Siyaram’s, Pantaloons, The White Crow, Cotton Guru, and Ritu Kumar were some of the brands students interned with. The students were able to consider a wider range of possible career paths by bringing their strengths to the forefront.
Graduation Design Collection was the culmination of four years of imbibing skills and gaining knowledge. Each student showcased a different theme based on extensive design thinking and exploration. The Collection showcase is based on a thematic presentation and display of a garment Line mapped, designed, and executed by the students. “Dharohar” is the theme for this year’s collection, sub-themes that were explored were Neeraambal- White Water lily, The Happy Accidents of The Swing – Rococo Art, Neel-Katha- Story of Blue Pottery, Prayanam- A Journey, and #Refashion- Repurposing old clothes and so on.
Neeraambal is a collection that bridges tradition and modernity in cocktail wear. The collection’s essence was inspired by the simplicity of the white water lilies and the grandeur of the Indian Classical Dance- Mohiniattam. Designer Pavithra Mohanan envisioned the collection in shades of white and gold, using the handwoven traditional Kerala Kasavu Sarees. The outfits were mainly an experiment with pleats which were shaped to show structure along with the flow.
“THE HAPPY ACCIDENTS OF THE SWING” collection by designer Nithuna Suresh is inspired by the Rococo painting of the same name, to be visually put together with grace and beauty. The collection takes direct visual inspiration from the painting through the design elements like curved lines, intertwined volumes, asymmetry, floral motifs, and contrasts of textures and colour. The extravagance and elegance of Rococo show their flair in garment components like the ruffles and the detachable collars. Using bright shades, the collection speaks of confidence and having fun, just as the painting it’s inspired from.
‘Neel-Katha – the blue story’ is an Indo-Western wedding or festive wear designed by Sailee Iyer. The inspiration for the collection comes from the blue pottery of Jaipur, a metaphor for a woman’s life. Just as a pot is subjected to harsh flames to result in a beautiful patina of glaze, a woman also overcomes hurdles in her life to shine brighter than her darkest days. The collection boasts pot-like silhouettes shown by balloon skirts, sleeves with boning, and a blouse paired with sheer dhoti pants. To show the delicate nature of the pot fabrics like tulle, organza, and embroidered net fabrics printed in blue pottery motifs are used.
Prayanam – a resort wear collection – is named after the journey of Nilgiris, home to the Toda tribe. Designed by R. Lalitha, the collection exclusively uses khadi fabric and is embellished with Toda embroidery to serve as its design foundation. Using off-white handwoven cotton fabrics as the base, red and black threads are used to create various geometric motifs that are meticulously embroidered. The collection focused on comfort with elegance with simple and classic silhouettes, imaginative accents, and striking embroidered statements. The collection boasts of different silhouettes of dresses, separates, and drapes to show the Toda patterns playfully.
#Refashion- Designer Aksshaya Venkat believes that as children of this planet it is one’s responsibility to take care of it for the future generation. The last decade has seen a growth in understanding the importance of slow fashion. Recycling, Up-cycling, and Down-cycling all have a common term ‘Cycling’, which points toward circularity. The designer has opted for repurposing by upcycling old clothes to create unique new ones at an added value. Techniques used for embellishing are traditional Indian embroideries like Kantha of West Bengal, Sujani of Bihar, Kashida of Kashmir, Mirror work, and Sindhi Taropa of Gujarat. Other techniques used are crochet, Kalamkari, and Gond art-inspired hand paintings to name a few.
“Each of the design collections is unique in their portrayal of design thought, carefully ideated, meticulously crafted and above allow and exclusive array of ensembles,” said Dr. Bhawana Chanana, the Head of Institution, Amity School of Fashion Design and Technology. “Also, the Industry Project is an essential part of the final semester of the 4-year degree program wherein the students intern in the industry for 14-16 weeks, gaining industry experience in areas of design, garmenting & manufacturing, styling, textiles, retail & merchandising,” she added.