The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Beyond cheese and cuckoo clocks

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Wednesday, Nov 19, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Beyond cheese and cuckoo clocks

Staff Reporter

Bangalore: The Swiss Textile Machinery remembers 1948 as the year in which India and Switzerland signed their first treaty — the Indo-Swiss treaty. Also, its first company outside of Europe was established in India 60 years ago, marking a long association of friendship and cordiality for both countries. Sunday night was a celebration of just these 60 years.

Swiss Gala brought with it a line-up of the who’s who of Indo-Swiss business and members of the Swiss Textile Machinery companies, along with Dominique Dreyer, Ambassador of Switzerland to India. The concept behind the evening was to focus all attention on the next generation, ensuring another era of friendship, in the field of fashion design.

In a fashion show titled “Let’s Move”, Indian students from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and the Swiss Textile College displayed their visions of the future in their clothing.

The two teams competed in an internal competition held over the past few months, but was presented at Swiss Gala as a collaborative effort.

For the students from NIFT, the concept was hackneyed — to fuse traditional textiles with new designs.

One could spot Naga skirts with futuristic capes and metallic anklets with pointy pumps, although none of the designs stood out at as exceptional. The students from the Swiss Textile College put together aprons and petticoats for more modern outfits.

The fashion show was infused with energy, ending on the note of “friendship”, reiterating its significance of the two countries.

Lukas Sigrist, Secretary General, Swiss Textile Machinery, spoke. H.S. Nagaraj, Honorary Consul of Switzerland in Bangalore, was present.

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