Colleges vie for top honours

The stage is all set for the grand finale of season eight of the DH Metrolife Fashion Show. The preliminary rounds that happened on August 25 at NMKRV College and September 1 at CMR Law College saw scintillating designs and captivating choreography.

The colleges which have been selected for the finale to be held at Dayananda Sagar Institutions, Kumaraswamy Layout on September 8, are super thrilled and at the top of their game.

Metrolife spoke to students from the ten teams that will be contesting in the finale. The show is a great platform for upcoming models and designers, say the finalists.

Musa Shahed, third-year BBA student from St Joseph’s College of Commerce says that it is thrilling to be a part of the top 10 finalists.

“There was cut-throat competition this year and every team was trying striking themes. We are working towards a larger-than-life presentation and hope to incorporate designs and activate a thought process too. We want our show to be a visual treat and a mental stimulus,” he says.

Vindya Niron, a third-year B Voc student from Mount Carmel College says that the show provides great exposure to young talent.

“Most of the colleges try to prepare months before the Metrolife Fashion Show starts and there is a huge number of colleges who participate. This explains how big the show is in the city. All the teams will be trying to outbeat each other at the finale and doing something new. We will try to be creative and out-of-the-box too,” she says.

Nisha Negi, a third-year student of Army Institute of Fashion and Design, is really excited about the upcoming finale.

“This is the perfect stage to connect to people in the industry and get the right exposure. Our team is nervous and excited as one saw expert designs and extensive choreographies at the zonal rounds but we have our fingers crossed,” says Nisha.

Each of the zonal rounds was skill-oriented, says Sanskriti Suresh, a third-year BCom student of Surana College.

“The theme for the finale is intriguing and can be worked on through many angles. Our family and friends are very excited about the show and happy to see us on such a platform,” she says.

Namrata Patil, a third-year student of BSc Fashion and Apparel Design from The Oxford College of Science, says that the show is more interesting this season.

“Both the preliminary rounds were very intense. The theme for the finale is quite challenging and we hope to make a lasting impression. We will be paying a lot of attention to choreography, coordination and our costume designs,” she adds.

Students like Ekta Yadav, a fourth-year BBA LLB student with CMR Law College, who has participated in the earlier editions vouch that creativity is at its best this season.

“The finesse one can see in all the designs and presentations was quite impressive. We are concentrating on the props and costumes that will be used to communicate the theme,” she says.

Usha Joshi, a third-year BSc Fad student from KLE Society’s S Nijalingappa College, points out that the entire fashion department at college and the principal and faculty are being extremely supportive of the show.

“We are working hard on developing and implementing new designs for the show. The Metrolife Fashion Show is a great competitive platform to present one’s creativity in its splendour,” says Usha.

Lepana Nagaraj, a first-year BBA student of Jain College, VV Puram says that this year’s edition was more exciting and different compared to the earlier editions.

“The big label attached to the show makes the show very prestigious. We are super excited to be walking the ramp for the finale. All of us are at college practising till late evenings for the show and we are focusing on making our presentation unique,” she says.

Shahid ul Haque, third-year BCom student with Jain College, Jayanagar, is excited that their college has qualified to the finale for the first time.

“The zonal rounds were very competitive and we are excited to see how we will fare in the finale. We have limited time and a theme to work with but we are hoping that we can make the best of it. We are trying to bring in different elements from the city into our designs and hope to impress the judging panel,” says Shahid.

Abhishek Kumar, a third-year student of BSc Fad, Vogue Institute of Fashion Technology, says that there is just no room for error this time.

“From inspiring designs to impressive choreography, both the zonal rounds had it all. We saw such precision in the presentations and there is no way that we can slack on any details,” says Abhishek.