Indian cities, big and small, are fast making their presence felt on the fashion map of the country, and how. While people are becoming more style conscious, institutes offering courses in fashion designing are ramping up and going places as well.
And, an announcement that is guaranteed to send the city’s style quotient soaring is the partnership between the International Institute of Fashion Design (INIFD) affiliated to the Annamalai University and the country’s biggest fashion event -- Lakme Fashion Week -- due to take place from September 18 to 22in Mumbai.
Based in Chandigarh and launched by fashion designer Ritu Beri in 1995, INIFD has 180 centres across the country and the globe.
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Its students have bagged prestigious internships and placements with big names such as Pantaloon, Maybell and Tommy Hilfiger.
Says S. Fareeda Khan, director, Fashion Interior Design Academy, Chennai, franchise holder of INIFD: “For the next four seasons, INIFD will be the official knowledge partner of Lakme Fashion Week. All our students will work with top designers during those five days. And, 20 of our handpicked student designers will get a chance to present their clothes in the Gen Next category. The best among them will also bag a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh.”
Says Priyanka Nair, a student: “We are really excited. For freshers like us, this is the ultimate platform. It will be a great exposure.”
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“Our mission is to bring fashion to the common man. When students leave us, they are fully groomed and are equipped to venture out as entrepreneurs, fashion stylists, merchandisers or design people,” notes Fareeda Khan
What’s more, the city’s fashionistas can look forward to a Chennai Fashion Weekend, during which the students will showcase their work.