FDCI & Education New Zealand present ‘Runway to New Zealand’

Education New Zealand (ENZ) and Fashion Design Council of India hosted the ‘Runway to New Zealand’, an interesting fashion fiesta, in the capital. ‘Runway to New Zealand’ based on the theme “Future World Connection”, in New Delhi on May 12, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency. The extravaganza showcased ensembles soaked in indigenous, sustainable fabrics by 12 Indian-New Zealand students. The event was a culmination of a month-long journey which saw an amalgamation of creative impetus and ingenuity. It celebrated independent thinking and encouraged team work as two participants from New Zealand and India came together to curate ensembles.

Three students each from Indian fashion institutes – the Pearl Academy (Noida, Jaipur and New Delhi), the National Institute of Fashion Technology (New Delhi), as well as fashion institutes from New Zealand- Massey University and AUT University, together worked in pairs to design for this prestigious event. Each of the six teams consisted of one Indian student and one New Zealander who presented two garments each and compete with each other to be chosen as the best.

It showcased the ‘Think New’ collection by 12 students from New Zealand (Massey University and AUT University) and Indian institutions (National Institute of Fashion Technology and the Pearl Academy) using indigenous sustainable fabrics to craft new-age garments based on the theme ‘’Future World Connection”. The competition was judged by an esteemed jury which included prominent names from the style galaxy: Amit Aggarwal, Rina Dhaka, Rohit Bal and Varun Bahl.

Two winning pairs were selected- Yoshino Maruyama from Massey University and Megha Sharma from Pearl Academy; the second pair – Claire Nicholson from AUT University and Aishwarya Jain from Pearl Academy, won a two-week internship at the participating New Zealand fashion school where they will get an opportunity to experience New Zealand’s eclectic teaching processes.

The fashion show featured engaging concepts by the six student pairs, covering themes such as creative uniform, ambitious girls in a dystopian global environment, boundary less world, among others. The student designers were judged on the basis of technical, theme interpretation, ramp impact, market relevance and functionality.

Other designers also seen at the event included Reynu Taandon, Rahul Mishra, Hemant Lalwani, Gaurav Jai Gupta and many more.