Student designers from FDDI Hyderabad display a handloom collection in collaboration with the weavers of Caravan Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Graduation shows in fashion schools are a sign of the unbridled creative instincts of budding designers. Unfiltered aftermarket for commercial viability, they showcase the skill of these designers who aren’t afraid to embrace their rebellious streak. The students of the 2019 batch displayed 27 different collections at the recent graduation show of Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI), Hyderabad.
Some of them also stood out in their partnership with artisans and weavers groups and by making a statement as protest fashion.
A collection titled Insane Spaces paid tribute to a Class X student in New Delhi who was a victim of bullying in mid-2022. According to news reports, the student was teased and assaulted by her classmates for her fashion choices. The silhouettes displayed as part of Insane Space do not fit traditional criteria. In earthy beiges, browns and whites, hues vary from anti-fit trousers to frilled collared cold-shoulder tops, from embroidered pocket flaps on trousers to jute strands on jackets. The collection, designed by Aman Ashok, Kumari Ayushi, Riya Pratap and Pranjal Arora, was awarded the Best Creative Design Collection of the Year award. Aman Ashok says, “We used raw jute for our collection as a symbol of the rawness and calmness of nature.” The purpose of the collection was to emphasize the need to accept people as they are.
Wear by students of FDDI Hyderabad as part of the Insane Space collection | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Another group of students collaborated with handloom weavers at Karwan on the outskirts of Hyderabad, using traditional fabrics to design contemporary outfits. “We wanted a collection that blends the beauty of jaali work and intricate handloom weaving,” says Abhishek Yadav, from the team who spent many hours interacting with weavers and understanding their weaving practices, yarns and textures. Spent In her collection titled Jaal, jaali work appears on the sleeves or pockets, while some of the dresses stand out for their sharp but exaggerated shoulders. The students – Abhishek, Prabhat Kumar, Kumari Shwetangi and Ankit Kumar – plan to sell the cloth and share the entire income with the weavers.
Fagelbo line in collaboration with lace artisans in Narsapur | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
While planning ahead for winter, when crochet is predicted to be one of the trends, student designers Dikshika, Vakshika, Pawan and Shamli collaborated with around 50 artisans who specialize in lacework in Narasapur. The students say that their collection, named Fagelbo (denoting a bird in a nest) tries to crochet the principles of building a nest. “We mixed the technique of nesting with the art of crochet. A bird’s beak acts as a hook, while the twigs, grass and other materials used to make the nest are replaced with threads of different colors and textures,” says Dikshika. The collection was designed in 25 days with the help of artisans from the Narasapuram Mandavaripeta cluster.
Out of 27 collections presented at FDDI, eight were awarded by the jury in various categories.