For Delhi University student Tanisha, shopping for clothes meant browsing the alleys of Janpath, bargaining with shopkeepers in Sarojini Nagar or picking unique designs from the streets of Greater Kailash M-block market like all college students have done for decades before her.
Staying away from retail stores is a decision Tanisha has taken not because street shopping is more affordable, but because it offers her a chance to create an individualistic style. For people like Tanisha, the new hunting ground now revolves around lifestyle shows, Diwali melas and college festivals, in which students of fashion design or those who have just graduated set up stalls.
One such exhibition to promote emerging fashion designers was the Runway Rising, organised at The Ashok on Tuesday.
Ramola Bachchan, who curated the show, told The Hindu : “The show is for fashion-conscious people in the city to shop creations that they will not find in retail stores. This, in turn, provides young designers a platform to sell to a clientèle that they will otherwise not be able to connect with.”
Among the stalls at the exhibition was Pink Elephant, in which Deeksha Batla, fresh out of design school, was making her début. “This is the first time I am selling my prêt collection. I am so excited that people have loved, appreciated and purchased my clothes,” said Deeksha, who says the response has encouraged her to continue creating for her label.
The festive season is particularly favourable for newcomers like Deeksha with a number of Diwali melas being organised across the city and shoppers on a buying spree.
Shweta Sangtani, a student of Pearl Academy of Fashion, says earlier when people thought of designers they pictured haute couture collections, but now emerging designers create innovative, quirky and quality designs that they sell at college festivals. These designers sometimes pick up clothes from Sarojini Nagar and transform them into something completely different by embellishing them and cutting them.
Talking about pricing, Shweta says pricing depends upon how much one has to pay for a stall. Whoever though that one can wear couture to college or a wedding while shopping on a budget?
