Guwahati: The Assam Youth Organisation of Performing Arts (AYOPA) on Tuesday said its annual fashion events - Fashion Wizards Mega Model Hunt and Fashion Wizards Designers' Battle - were scheduled to be held at Rukminigaon auditorium here on Sunday.

Altogether 20 male and female models will vie for the Mega Model titles while eight designers are in the reckoning for the best designer, best research work presentation and most economically viable designer titles.

At a news conference held here on Tuesday, AYOPA chairman Raktim Kumar Das said, "This is the third edition of the Designers' Battle and second of Mega Model Hunt. The event is held to provide an authentic platform for the best fashion designers and models of the region where, along with the title, the winners will get a unique identity in the fashion industry. Renowned fashion designers like Bhashkar Bora, Diplu Hazarika, Riyan Kamal, Swagat Maina and Prachurya Bhuyan will showcase their collections. Grooming of the models started on October 21 under Romesh Saikia and Apurba Gogoi."

AYOPA will honour fashion designer Kunal Kaushik with the title, Legend of the Year, 2017, for his dedication to the fashion industry.

Kaushik, a graduate of fine arts from Maharaja Sayaji Rao University of Baroda, has been working on designs with the rare muga silk of Assam for the last 18 years. He was the winner of the Tiffany Award for Best Fashion Designer at the Paris Fashion Week last year. His collections have been showcased in events around the globe.

The winner of the Designers' Battle will be awarded with a cash prize of Rs 10,000 while the best models will win a cash prize of Rs 5,000 each.

Last year's top mega models, Lanutangit Walling and Monmi Bora, were also present at the event's announcement.