India shining

Amarjot Kaur

At the Freemaisons’ Hall of London, Chandigarh lasses Harleen Kaur and Heena Sharma held the Tiranga in one hand and the garments they designed in the other. On the India Day at the London Fashion Week, the designer duo was among the 20 fashion designers selected for the fashion gala.

Students at INIFD, Chandigarh, both Harleen and Heena were shortlisted by Fashion Scout, an organisation devoted to bringing independent fashion designers on an international platform in September this year. Back in the city, after their month-long sojourn in the UK, they talk about their experience at the event as the chosen few women to have entered the Freemason Hall and their mentor Joseph Toronka, a faculty at London College of Fashion, who also gave them a crash course in fashion and styling. 

Opt for Art by Heena Sharma

Heena’s collection was inspired by the beauty of Northern Lights, Aurora, that led her to make abstract collages of optical art. The Art Collages’ Tessellations and illusions were portrayed as wearable art, as they were incorporated as varied explorations and techniques on the garments. “Mix prints, or overlapping prints are really catching up this season. The fabric I used was satin, because it’s making a comeback in a big way and the technique I used was digital printing,” says Heena. Having done a degree in B. Tech from Mumbai’s DY Patil University, the 24-year-old is now the final-year student of Masters in Fashion Designing at INIFD.

“I started working towards registering for the London Fashion Week in May, the registrations begin from March. My parents wanted me to become either a doctor or an engineer, but fashion was my calling so I changed my stream after graduation,” she says.

Refurbishing the Baroque by Harleen Kaur

Inspired by the beauty and flamboyance of the Baroque era, Harleen’s collection is a mix of ubiquitous gold and white pastels with bright metallic foil prints in blues and electric green. The laser cut in metallic foil printed fabrics, highlighted with embellishments added frivolity, fantasy and elegance to the garments.

“I made a huge sacrifice for pursuing fashion designing. Coming from a family of engineers, I got a seat in chemical engineering at UIET, but I chose fashion, My parents supported me,” she says. Harleen, 21, started preparing for London Fashion Week in November last year. “Since I am still pursuing my graduation in fashion designing, I wanted to grab all opportunities to show my talent to my parents and teachers. Not only were my designs shortlisted for the London Fashion Week, but they made it to the New York Fashion Week too. I could only go to London though,” she shares. 

While being mentored by Joseph, Harleen and Heena were told that they were among few women to have entered The Freemason Hall. “Even at the hall, there were a few places were women were barred from entering, but we are so happy we got a chance to be there,” they gleam with joy. 

“In fact, we only sent them sketches during registration, but throughout we were mentored by Joseph, who guided us on how to predict fashion and how to style people too. From fabrics to the finished garment; he gave us some life-saving tips on fashion designing,” they say. 

The designers were honoured by Indian High Commission at a special felicitation ceremony held at India House London where Shri Manish Singh Minister (Economic). For the second consecutive season INIFD budding designers showcased at the World’s pioneer fashion week New York Fashion Week. 

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Team effort

• Two groups from INIFD Chandigarh made India and INIFD proud at Vibrant India Show at New York Fashion Week with their unique concepts for Spring Summer/19. 
• Group 1: Sonam Aggarwal, Gurpreet Singh, Harsha Gambhir , Dolphy , Heena Dhiman, Lovejeet Kaur, Marziya, Nancy, Namrata, Gursheen. 
• Group 2: Ravneet Kaur, Sunandini Bharadwaj, Mahima Bakshi, Vandana Trivedi, Diksha Arora , Simran Narang, Riya Tyagi, Harleen Kaur, Gurpreet Singh , Sneha Huriya.
• Indian Consul General in USA Mr Sandeep Chakravarti addressed audience post the successful show by INIFD titled Vibrant India at New York Fashion Week