Students of NIFT rejoice 25 years of fashion with an array of colourful programmes (Below) in Bhubaneswar. Pictures by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 20: The silver jubilee celebration of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) was proof of how designers too can dance.

Saturday evening saw the NIFTians shake a leg to Chammak challo and sing to Kishore Kumar’s evergreen Yeh jo mohabbat hai at a city hotel rejoicing their 25 years of fashion. This was the first year of celebration for the NIFT students of Bhubaneswar and they were in no mood to leave any stone unturned.

As it was an event for the fashion students, the celebration too was done in style. Along with a good mix of song, dance and ramp show, the event also saw discussions and deliberations on Odisha fashion.

The day-long celebration began with a number of seminars attended by some of the stalwarts of Odisha fashion world who shared and analysed the arts and craft of Odisha.

Present among the guests was painter, designer, director and cartoonist Aswini Kumar Satapathy who mesmerised the students with his short film, Arc: The Last Sunshine of Konark. Satapathy also spoke on the future of Odisha’s art and culture. Siddharth Patnaik, an expert in patachitra paintings and Pipili appliqué works also took part in the conference.

Patnaik discussed the importance of restoring the age-old art form of patachitra. Another noted personality present at the seminar was Sadanand Bhoi, who had single-handedly reformed Sonepur handloom sector in Odisha.

“I have introduced different schemes for the Integrated Handloom Cluster Development Programme in Sonepur. These schemes worked out perfectly and today, the Sonepur handloom industry is doing extremely well. Not just Sonepur, every handloom sector should take initiatives to revive the industry,” said Bhoi. Also present on the occasion were Binaya Bhusan Jena and Alekh Mohanty.

Serious discussions were kept at bay during the evening gala. Pulsating music, perfect blend of traditional and western dance, creative designs and not to forget loud cheers of support from the students captivated the audience.

The versatile designers fused the Odia style into modern outfits. They showcased what is “hip and cool” this season. The apparels were beautifully complemented with the right accessories and adornments.

was good to see how these talented students have repackaged the traditional Odia designs into contemporary wear. Their creations were original, beautiful and hundred per cent wearable,” said the chief guest of the evening, inspector-general of Cuttack, Ram Chandroo.