The lush green lawns of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts at the national capital of New Delhi on Tuesday (October 27) night was a sight in which one felt that as if they were in the exotic Northeast with so many of young faces from Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, etc warming the place with their energetic faces, eager to make their presence felt in the national fashion scenario.

Yes, this is about the ‘Neift Annual Design Ceremony’ — the passing out ceremony fashion show of Guwahati-based North East Institute of Fashion Technology. NEIFT chief executive officer Vikram Rai Medhi said, “we want the young designers from the Northeast to find a footing in the national fashion industry and that is why though we have our institute in Assam, we are organizing their passing out ceremony at the national capital.”

The event was presented by the Union Ministry of Tourism in association with Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.

After the anchor set the show rolling welcoming the gathering, the opening round featured the collections of designer Meghna Rai Medhi who has special niche for herself in the fashion world designing ensembles blending the exquisite traditional fabrics and motifs of the region. To her credit Meghna has dressed up the likes of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Celina Jaitley, Diana Hayden and many other celebrities.

This time she dedicated her opening sequence to the rich tradition and art of the weaves of Assam and an entire range of Asomiya mekhela chadar in Assam silk was presented on the 100-foot ramp. The line-up of 25 international and Indian models looked stunning adorning this extraordinary muga and Assam silk ensemble. The colours were rich and bright and right for the festive look. Her next sequence was a dedication to Nagaland. The attires showcased were in a combination of red, black, white and blue — the colours which find a special place in Naga design methodology. Meghna’s finale was a range of flowing and colourful range of evening wear.

The students themes followed next in what was an example of the young creative minds let loose. There was a wide range of various themes like ‘Floral Fantasy’, ‘Five Elements’, ‘Dreams’, ‘Virgo Virtues’, ‘Circus’, ‘Gothic’, ‘Kangla Collection’, ‘Antiquity’ et al. The young students used variety of assorted fabrics and it was a welcome sign to see the use of many Northeast traditional weaves and handlooms and even blended jute which will make these eco-friendly fabrics as the new designer fabrics. As class topper Saumar Jyoti Dutta and other student designers appeared on the stage to take their bow they were warmly greeted by the crowd that will sure inspire these young aspirants to excel in the world of fashion. As all good things have to come to an end the curtains fell on a truly remarkable effort and one hopes to have more such events in which the Northeast hogs the limelight.

KD Sharma