Wills Lifestyle held the fifth edition of ‘The Debut’ a competition for budding young fashion students to compete nationally on a fashion platform. This Mumbai round was judged by renowned fashion designers Krishna Mehta, Priyadarshini Rao and NIFT faculty Monica Aggarwal. 5 promising designers were picked from the 14 that showcased that afternoon. The 5 that were chosen were Nipun Dhingra, Arti Jaggi, Mukta Barva, Harshita Bhardwaj and Madhurima Sengupta. The winner will receive an award at the upcoming Wills Lifestyle India Fashion week and additionally get an all expense paid trip to the International Fashion Fair and an opportunity to work at ITC Ltd. Not a bad way to start out!
Having just graduated from fashion school myself, I must say I was a little disappointed by some of the collections as they lacked in finishing. Some garments weren’t even lined and hems and zips were badly stitched and looked very unfinished. I’m a firm believer in new talent, and really wanted to see these student push the envelope and give us great looking and quality clothes. There is so much creativity but no strong foundation in pattern making and finishing, which is so vital for any designer. I believe the judges took that into consideration when deciding the final 5. The few that did manage to do a great looking and well made collection ultimately got selected to move on to the next round. The 5 that were chosen had the best collections, especially my favourite Nipun Dhingra (if you’re reading this I want that shirt and pant ensemble!)
