Below: Varun Wadhawan played on the fleeting fame from Andy Warhol's quotation with his Andy Was Here for 15 Minutes. It rebels against hourglass figures and accepts the reality of tough streetwear and the temporary nature of trends.

Left and below: Nitin Goyal's award-winning La Mode Experimental collection. Goyal writes, ‘La Mode Experimental bonds natural fabrics and synthetics in hues of ochres, gold and orange.’

   Equally eye-catching was the green outfit in Nitin Goyal's collection, called La Mode Experimental. Natural fibres like silk tissue and organza were combined with synthetics like nylon in a colour palette which progressed from pastels to deeper hues of gold, ochres and orange.
   Shades of red enhanced the cut of the flowing chiffon top in Sanjiv Sahai Srivastava's collection. Inspired by flames, in sponge-dyed chiffons and silks, this designer's clothes were characterized by the play of colours, embroidery, beadwork and mirrorwork.
   No less vibrant was Varun Wadhawan's Andy Was Here For 15 Minutes. This street style collection was about contemporary existence and its obsession with fifteen-minute icons. It also spoke about a growing concern with anything superficial, ‘the race for a perfect body, the perfect voice, the need to be recognized.’ The interpretation of this concept into garments was through the use of pop culture prints, quotes and comments on tops and jackets. The award for the best men's collection went, not surprisingly to Varun.
   For after the 29 young designers exhibited their respective collections, they came on the stage amid applause and received their awards. Nitin Goyal received the NIFT award for the best collection while Mansee Handa got it for the most practical collection.
   The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) was set up with the prime objective of providing trained human resource for the apparel industry in India. Fashionova 2000 provides the young graduates a platform to present their collections. The graduates are encouraged, says Kusum Chopra of NIFT, ‘to visualize and to develop their own ideas’. Some students look for inspiration in the historical past while some have futuristic thoughts. They are taught the design process and the collection is the culmination of this, not in presentation but in technique. As the show is not merely about the creation of the outfit, but, it also helps convey each designer's experience of life. Hence clothes with a special attitude for a younger, future-minded generation for whom fashion has become a way of life.

Visit NIFT, www.niftindia.com