When you’re the first name in fashion, you do something about it. The folks over at Vogue India decided to set up a fashion fund to support emerging designers much like their Vogue US counterpart. After receiving an unprecedented amount of entries, (imagine the amount of sketches and swatches) they have finally zeroed in on six finalists.
It was no easy task to come this far, as they had to impress a panel of fashion powerhouses. They included Vogue India’s top brass Editor Priya Tanna, Fashion Features Director Bandana Tiwari, Fashion Director Anaita Shroff-Adajania and Marketing Director Oona Dhabhar. President of the FDCI Sunil Sethi, designers Sabyasachi, Suneet Verma, Gaurav Mahajan and Alka Nishar – COOs of Westside were also part of the panel.
Held at Amadeus restaurant in Mumbai, the finalists were unveiled to be Pankaj & Nidhi, Nitin Bal Chauhan, Aneeth Arora, Amit Aggarwal, Rahul Mishra and Payal Pratap Singh.
The grand prize winners will receive a Rs 25 lakh sponsorship, a feature in Vogue India, retail contracts with Westside, an industry mentorship, and a slot at the Wills India Lifestyle Fashion Week. That’s quite the prize package… what an amazing opportunity for these newcomers! The winner will be unveiled in the 5th Anniversary issue of Vogue this October.
Take a look at the designers’ capsule collections below:
1) Rahul Mishra
2) Amit Aggarwal
3) Payal Pratap Singh
4) Pankaj & Nidhi
5) Nitin Bal Chauhan
6) Aneeth Arora
I’m so torn between all of them. Can’t wait to see who the winner is, but in my books they’ve all accomplished a great deal.
Team MissMalini wishes all finalists good luck! Who do you think will win?