Celebrating ethnicity in style

Gurvinder Singh

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Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 19

Students of International Institute of Fashion Design celebrated ethnicity as they came sporting ethnic attire to celebrate ‘World Ethnic Day’ today. The dresses were all designied by the budding designers of the institute. They came wearing sarees, lehnga cholis, phulkari suits, salwaar kameez, punjabi suits, kurtis, sherwanis, kurta pjamas and dhotis to celebrity the ethnicity of different regions of the country as well India dresses as a whole.

The students also participated in rangoli, mehndi and music competitions with the spirit of celebrating the ethnicity.

“Students came wearing different kinds of ethnic wear depicting design, elements and embroidery arising from the ethnic traditions and themes. Students depicted the true Punjabi attires as well as those from different parts of the country,” said Kuldeep Kaur, a fashion-design faculty member at the institute.

As World Ethnic Day is being celebrated for the first time, the students are excited to celebrate the day as there is a novelty factor to celebrating the tradition and heritage, she said.

“Nowadays, there is a day to commemorate and celebrate things and ideas that are important to all. So, it is a good that World Ethnic Day is being celebrated to value the ethnicity and importance of the soil and region one is part of,” a student said.

Pallavi Gabba, a first year student, of fashion design at the institute said, “It was amasing to see everyone dressed up in different ethnic dresses including Punjabi suits, sarees, traditional Punjabi suits, dhoti kurtas, Haryanavi dresses. We also enjoyed the ramp walk during the celebrations.”

“It feels good to connect to your roots,” said another student. “We have such a rich heritage that was forgotten. So we are celebrating the ethnic wear, music and dance as well,” he said. “I have never worn a traditional Punjabi dhoti, but after coming here to celebrate the day, I feel it is so comforting and a fashion statement in its own right,” he added. “So unless we respect our own tradition and heritage, others would not pay attention to our culture and ethnicity,” he added.

“Generally there is a mix of western and Indian wear. But I feel proud and happy to see everyone dressed in traditional ethnic wear. We have so much variety within Indian ethnic dresses, but we don’t pay much attention to it. But there is so much to explore and wear to celebrate our ethnicity and tradition,” said Kritika Gupta, a second year student.