Two Indians to intern at NZ fashion school

New Delhi, May 13 (IANS) The smart use of sustainable fabric along with her mother's age-old sari incorporated in a modern creation has landed Jaipur-based Megha Sharma a two-week internship at a prestigious New Zealand fashion school.

Sharma, a Pearl Academy student, was selected for the opportunity by the likes of ace designers Rohit Bal, Varun Bahl and Rina Dhaka at 'Runway to New Zealand', a fashion fiesta hosted here by Education New Zealand (ENZ) and Fashion Design Council of India on Thursday night.

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 -- one each from New Zealand and India in the form of six groups came together to curate ensembles and competed with each other.

Also present at the event were dignitaries from New Zealand and FDCI president Sunil Sethi.

Though all the 12 contestants showed their creativity with the unisex theme and inspiration, there were two pairs who were selected as a winner. Yoshino Maruyama from Massey University and Megha Sharma from Pearl Academy were selected for using indigenous sustainable fabrics to craft new-age garments based on the theme "Future World Connection”.

What impressed the judges more was Megha's idea of using her mother's sari to accessories the garment.

“Your mother's sari did the trick. Just say thank you to her,” said one of the judges when emcee Ramona Arena announced the winner.

The second pair who were announced winners were Claire Nicholson from Auckland University of Technology and Delhi-based Aishwarya Jain from Pearl Academy.

At the event, some of the creative themes that impressed the veterans of the fashion world were creative uniform, ambitious girls in a dystopian global environment and boundary-less world, among others.

The student designers were judged on the basis of technical, theme interpretation, ramp impact, market relevance and functionality.

“It is captivating for the FDCI to be associated with a cross-cultural fashion event of this magnitude. The charged minds from the two countries, New Zealand and India, have worked meticulously to showcase their individualistic take on fashion.

"This event proves that style is truly seamless and this could not have been achieved without the unflinching support of the Education New Zealand.,” said Sethi.

Even New Zealand High Commissioner Grahame Morton was impressed with the progress in the Indian fashion world.

“India is impressing the world with crafts and textiles and I would like to say that many of the New Zealand population loves to use Indian techniques in their clothes,” he told IANS.

“The event was a tremendous success and I congratulate the winners and all the young kiwi and Indian student designers who participated. We saw some great ideas and the winners will have a very immediate opportunity to continue their work together in New Zealand,” he added.

Education New Zealand (ENZ) is New Zealand’s government agency for international education. ENZ works to grow awareness of New Zealand as a study destination and to support New Zealand education providers and businesses to take their services and products abroad.