City becoming a hub for fashion industry

With a growing number of people becoming fashion conscious these days, Chandigarh is carving out a niche for itself in the world of fashion. It is all set to become country’s new fashion hub, as being a home to several fashion institutes in Punjab, the satellite city offers a valuable platform for all budding designers in showcasing their creative work.
With the state-of-the-art Fashion Technology Park coming up in Mohali, the township along with Chandigarh is all poised to become India’s new fashion hub, a venture that will develop this region as the Indian fashion mart.
India has a rich ancient fashion conscious culture. We must take a cue from these ancient concepts to prepare clothes and other products for the international market for export purposes. The upcoming park would not only attract domestic dealers but also foreign investors. It would also generate direct and indirect employment for the educated youth of Punjab, besides the village artisans and rural women folk.
The tri city is fast emerging as a hub of creative talent and creative skills of the younger generation. Earlier while the Punjabi customers used to go to Delhi and Mumbai for designer outfits, now it is all available closer home. Many Bollywood stars and some of India’s top fashion models recently are now turning their eyes towards the tri city. An annual design collection show that was held in the last week of May, saw a plethora of a range of designs by student designers from the Fashion design as well as the knitwear design and technology programme. Technology seems to be getting the best of fashion. Over the years, our textiles and clothing traders have gained substantial knowledge and expertise about sourcing products. They are able to cater for the preferences of a diverse customer base. They have developed global supply chains which respond promptly to world fashion trends and seasonal demands as well as the ability to deliver quality products with a short lead time.
While major retailers are putting more emphasis on branding and design to differentiate and upgrade the image of their products, our garment industry has been diversifying into services complementary to manufacture.
From boutique fashion to abstract designs and innovative surface ornamentations, the city best at display for the domestic and international market.
Fashion is not just about models sashaying down the ramp wearing beautiful designer creations. It is a complete industry and thus requires tackling the key market issues and outlining the business principles and ethics, besides encouraging entrepreneurship.
Insightful and thought provoking, as it is termed, the forum challenges the key market issues and hopes to deliver ideas for fashion business planning, development and innovation. It will also highlight the creativity of Indian fashion as it beaks through the global market.
The most powerful resource that is currently riding the nation is the youth. While the general elections proved the point, another area that believes in cashing in on youthful energy and creativity is fashion.
“The future of fashion in Chandigarh is defined by the young talent. City is fast growing, becoming upcoming Fashion center. Not only the national brands, but even the international brands are making it to the tri city, thus making a wider prospective for the designers”, says Ahbilasha Bhardwaj, working as a merchandiser in a private firm.
Garment design these days is taken as a serious design business where concept plays the most important role. You look out of someone who can talk design, was pleasantly surprised to rediscover that it does not take a degree to understand aesthetics.
The apt depiction of the rock revolution is shown in form of pointers: the rock music, spiked up hair, highlighted anecdotes from the 80’s.Destruction and then reconstruction formed a major part of the lifestyle the rock band had to project which is seen in the fashionable denim collection flooded in their stores. What is Important for a designer is to consider the aesthetic, functional, and many other aspects of an object or a process, which usually requires considerable research, thought, modeling and some interactive adjustment. Design underpins every form of creation from objects to the way we plan and execute our lives.
“In Chandigarh see a movement, a passion for constant change and appreciation is reflected in the way the youth churns out the ensembles season after season advocating a design process which encourages collaboration. The result is a lifestyle that so seamlessly integrates and makes us proud as wearers and dwellers of this city beautiful”, says Dr Prabhdip Brar, an Artist, art historian and designer and presently Head, knitwear design and technology department, NIIFT.
Some of the major Fashion Institute in Tricity:
INTER NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FASHION DESIGN (INIFD)
INIFD, the world's largest Design Institute was launched by famous designer ‘Ritu Beri’ in 1995 which is now backed by world's top design institute, IMB, Milan (Italy). INIFD has technical collaboration with eighty years old Annamalai University.INIFD is proud to have produced over one lac student Designers and more than five thousand students have been recently recruited by top international brands like Tommy Hilfiger, United colors of Benetton, Wills Lifestyle, Esprit, Pantaloons, Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, J.J.Valaya House, Raymonds, Godrej, Durian to name a few. In 14 years, INIFD has also produced star designers who have designed for movie Jodha Akbar, Balaji Telefilms,Prince Charles, Amitabh Bachhan, Shahrukh Khan, Angelina Jolie and all top stars including the Set Designs for bollywood superhits ‘Vivah’ & ‘Apne’. INIFD has a Placement Tie -up with Arvind Murjani Brands for Tommy Hilfiger, the leading International Brand. Northern Institute of Fashion Technology
Northern India Institute of Fashion technology was set up in 1995 and an MOU was signed with National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi to guide and help us right through the admission procedure, faculty recruitment and training to the smooth planning and running of the courses. Mohali is the perfect location in regard of cohering the various garment industries situated in Ludhiana, Baddi, Derabassi and Chandigarh, which is fast emerging as an important centre in the fashion scenario of the country.Thus, NIIFT was set up to play a key role in crossing the chasm between the requirement and availability of trained professionals in the industry. The fourteen year old Institute imparts knowledge comparable with international standards provided by a very competent and learned faculty. Also the constant interaction with the garment industry instills in the students, the confidence in their own ability to keep up with the competitive industrial world.