Diana Penty flaunts a creation at Tomorrow Makers 2006 at RCGC. (Below) Jesse Randhawa at the same show. Pictures by Pabitra Das

What: Bhawanipur Fashionista ’06, annual graduating show presented by students of fashion design and textile department of The Bhawanipur Gujarati Education Society College.

Where: Swabhumi.

When: December 16 and 17.

Take a look: On Saturday evening, the heritage park decked up with a makeshift ramp to host the student show. The show started off well beyond the scheduled time, but the creative display by 20 final-year students made up for the long wait.

First on the ramp was a collection from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) before the Bhawanipur students took over. A Provogue sequence punctuated the show. On Sunday evening, another 21 students of the institute unveiled their graduating lines.

Models Debbie, Pamela, Jessica, Priyanka Pal, Tanusree and others strutted in dramatic clothes, with the line-up heavily titled towards westerns. Golden Tree, Attitude, X-Factor, Right Calories, Society Itch… the themes and inspirations were varied. The colour palette pointed towards a sober mood — lots of browns, pastels, blacks, onion pinks, ocean greens and blues. Occasionally, there was a splash of fiery red or yellow.

The students didn’t give the winter element a miss. Lots of trendy coats — some short, others long — and jackets with interesting embellishments were seen. Dresses and skirts came in all forms, with hemlines stopping a few inches above or below the knee. Loose trousers, churi pants and capris also jostled for attention amidst balloon hemlines and sexy necklines. Patchwork, jutework, funky trimmings, sequins, beads and intricate embroidery decorated the clothes.

Glimpses from Bhawanipur Fashionista ’06 held at Swabhumi. Pictures by Rashbehari Das.

The collections were judged by a panel comprising designer Abhishek Dutta, beauty expert Bridgette Jones, director of NIFT Calcutta Shantmanu, Barnali Biswas, registrar of NIFT Calcutta, actress Rimjhim Mitra, S. Jhunjhunwala, director, Turtle garments, Alka Bangur, president, All India Marwari Mahila Samity, Manop Mekprayoonthong, consul general of Thailand in Calcutta. The surprise element for the evening was Mumbai actress Tejaswini Kolhapure. “I have been a part of student shows, and know exactly how they feel. The collection is worth applauding,” smiled Tejaswini.

Priyanka Rupani and Anantha Sinku walked away with the Best Innovation awards, while Mou Roy and Peden Law topped the Best Embellishment category. Alka Jain bagged the Best Accessory award and the Best Industrial Approach prize went to Varun Agarwal and Nikita Agarwal.

Smita Agarwal and Ditiya Roy topped the Best Couture category while Best Craftsmanship prize was bagged by Sanchita Satpati and Ruchi Kanoi.

Priyanka Kedia and Niraj Agarwal were judged the Best Designers and the Best GenX category was won by Abhay. Sweta Kumari and Smita Halwasia were judged the Best Students of the Year. Ricku Pun won the Best Collection prize. The Jury’s Choice awards went to Nainy Agarwal and Sneha Jain.

The show was organised by Encore — The Eventsmiths.

Voiceover: “The graduating show gives students a chance to showcase their creativity outside the classroom for the first time,” smiled Heena Gorsia, honorary secretary general of The Bhawanipur Gujarati Education Society.