Glimpses from Tomorrow Makers 2005, the graduating show of NiFD at RCGC that was choreographed by Marc Robinson. Pictures by Pabitra Das

Creative streaks, months of toil and big dreams... Qualities that define this talented youngsters who called themselves students of fashion design till a few days back. Now, they call themselves designers, all set to dictate some fashion trends in the future.

The annual graduating show of National Institute of Fashion Design (NiFD) ? Tomorrow Makers 2005 ? showcased the works of 130 final-year textile and design students of the Lindsay Street branch. Presented in association with The Telegraph Metro, the show was held at The Tea Lawn of Royal Calcutta Golf Club (RCGC) on Thursday evening.

It was a chilly winter evening on the club lawns, but the collections were hot and stylish enough to enthuse proud parents, family and friends to sit through the five-hour fashion gala, applauding and cheering the nervous students who awaited audience reaction anxiously.

The lavish set with huge Greek pillars in pristine white was conceptualised and constructed by Sanjiv Das and fellow students from the interior design department of NiFD.

Walking the ramp were some of the top models of the country like Jesse Randhawa, Indrani Dasgupta, Deepti Gujral, Amrita Thapar, Niharika Singh and Pawan Satpal.

The judges’ seats were taken by fashion biggies like Pali Sachdev, Sharbari Datta, Sucheta Merh, model-turned-painter Piu Sarkar and CEO of RCGC M.M. Singh. The show was choreographed by model-turned-event director Marc Robinson while make-up artiste Abhijit Chanda dolled up the models.

Wool, crepe, georgette, silks, jute...The fabric fare was an eclectic assortment of rough textures and soft weaves. The style, very contemporary yet innovative, had lots of flowing textured skirts and sleek ones with sensuous side slits teamed with halter necks and backless cholis. Some salwar suits went the off-shoulder way. Short skirts teamed with tights and see-through wraparounds loosely swung around trousers made a strong fashion statement. Skirts, gowns or tops, asymmetrical hemlines were the order of the day.

The themes were inspired by everything from serpents to tea gardens, ancient Ajanta sculptures to astronauts. The show was broken up into 30 sequences.

After taking a long, hard look at them all, the judges picked the winners in different categories. Jyoti Khemka, Ria Mukherjee and Arghya Mitra walked away with the Most Enterprising student title for fashion, textile and interiors, respectively.

Tamsoma Jyotirgmaya, a collection of Indo-Westerns that drew inspiration from this phrase meaning journey of the mind from darkness to light, won the Best Design Collection (Fashion). Created by Udita Surana, Sambaran Chaudhury, Dhirendra Sharma, Deepa Gupta, Ekta Ladia and Himadri Sekhar Chowdhury, it was an assortment of silk, silk blends and synthetics with sequin detailing and asymmetrical hemlines.

The first and second runner-up for the category were Ice Maiden, a collection of evening gowns, and Vignette Maiden, a winter streetwear line. Ice Maiden, with inspirations from the polar region, was also declared the Most Commercially Viable Collection (Fashion). Sophisticated and elegant gowns with lots of layers were accentuated with stones and crystals.

For the Best Fabric Development (Textile Full-Time), it was Simplicity to Complexity by Tumpa Roy that won the top billing. A blend of Indo-Westerns and formal party wear, the collection showcased simplicity through prints and embroidery on natural fabrics and portrayed complexity through intricate jacquard weaves. A Chromatic Touch and Myriad Miracle were declared first and second runner-up.

The Most Commercially Viable Collection (Textile), was Earth’s Beckon by Manju Agarwal, Arnika Todi, Sarfaraz Nawaz Khan and Utpal Bhandari. Earthy shades of off-white and dark brown ruled the collection with an underlying message to save the earth through art. The collection also bagged the Best Fabric Development (Textile Part-Time) award, followed by Slithering Mystic and Phantasmagoric Saga.

The student show was followed by an interesting display of western wear and traditional garb by Susan Mantosh, director of the institute. All done in Pipli appliqu? work, the idea was to “give this ancient Oriya art form a whole new dimension”. The fusion line comprised sheer white gowns decorated with traditional motifs of fish and flowers.

The bridal collection was an assortment of gowns and red ghagras with appliqu? work. Strappy gowns in turquoise blue, embellished with intricate peacock feather-like patterns were the definite eye-catchers. The men flaunted white short kurtas with colourful peacock motifs.