Four emerging designers we loved at the Young Italy-India Fashion Lab

Young, enthusiastic and so creative, the future of fashion in India seemed bright at Young Italy-India Fashion Lab at Knots of Inspiration, an evening organised recently by The Embassy of Italy in New Delhi.

During the event, ELLE's Editor-in-Chief, Supriya Dravid, moderated a conversation on the cross-pollination of Indian and Italian culture with a panel of guests that included fashion designers Rahul Mishra and Anvita Sharma (Founder of Two point Two), Diana Marian Murek (Director of Education at Istituto Marangoni India), Maurizio Grioli (Dean of the School of Fashion at Pearl Academy), and Shivang Dhruva (Founder and Director of FAD International Academy).

The panel discussion ended with a contest called Young Italy-India Fashion Lab where students from prestigious institutes such as Istituto Marangoni in Mumbai, FAD Institute, Pearl Academy, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Amity School of Fashion and JD Institute presented capsule collections inspired by Italy. The winners of the contest were awarded scholarships and training at Milan Fashion Week. Scroll down to see the work of the winners:

GAIKHUANLUNG. M. GANGMEI & SHIVANI KUMARI

Titled Tradizionale Modernita, the duo from NIFT created a collection inspired by old and new Italy. Taking cue from the ruins of Pompeii, an ancient Roman city, the young designers created sharp, tailored silhouettes in jute and cotton.

SUYASH SOUNDALGEKAR

A student from Istituto Marangoni, Mumbai, Suyash’s collection was called Re//Creation of Adam. Inspired by Michelangelo’s famous painting, The Creation of Adam, Suyash's designs reinterpreted the elements of the painting with the help of 3D printing technology in metallic blue and green.

ANIRUDH DHIMAN

Retelling the age-old story of Romeo and Juliet set in the backdrop of Verona, Anirudh’s all-white collection called Inlay featured soft, billowy and comfortable silhouettes. The collection reimagined the ecru dresses often featured in the artwork of Italian painter Emma Ciardi with embroideries and prints inspired from the delicate flowers of Juliet’s garden.

Photographs by Abhinav Bhandari

MAHIMA JAIN

The FAD-graduate created a collection that merged street wear with motifs inspired from the work of Italian painter, Edoardo Tresoldi. The glow-in-the-dark collection called Flash Backlash was crafted to make party-dressing comfortable.

Photographs by Davesh Mehta