Students at the NIFD, Siliguri. Picture by Kundan Yolmo

Siliguri, Aug. 23: The commercial town is ready to sashay down the ramp.

If the enthusiasm of students of the National Institute of Fashion Design (NIFD) is anything to go by, Siliguri is just the place to be in.

“Though late, fashion as an industry has finally set foot in Siliguri and a huge untapped market is all ready to be explored,” said Anu Agarwal, an aspiring fashion designer and an NIFD student.

Agarwal, who is planning to quit mathematics honours so that she can devote herself completely to fashion designing, is all set to jump start on her career by holding an exhibition in September along with friend Deepika Khanna.

What’s more, Agarwal has already to her credit an award in kidswear designed for a show held last year.

NIFD, which has been in Siliguri for the past seven years, has about 48 students at present. A two-day exhibition, which started yesterday, was organised by the institute to showcase the talents and creativity of the students. Many of the creations of the aspiring designers were experiments in Lycra, cotton and khadi and fetched customers easily.

“Since the fashion industry is at a nascent and a disorganised stage, it is not very prominent. But it does exist and if anyone wants to make it big there are many scopes,” said NIFD centre-in-charge Kuntanil. “Apart from looking good, people nowadays want clothes that speak of their personality — dresses that are exclusive and well-researched. What more, they are even willing to pay for it. The going is not bad and if one makes the right move, there will be no looking back,” he added.

Success here lies, experts believe, in the slight alteration in design and price to suit the small-town atmosphere. The sky-high price tags that accompany designer labels in metros are a complete no-no. “The prices have to be kept reasonable,” says Rakhee Gupta, who has a boutique of her own.“It is true that people here want to wear designer clothes but they are not reckless spenders. A balance has to be struck,” Gupta said. “Well, of course, the designs of the clothes have to be in tune with small town mentality and wearable in terms style and comfort,” she added.

Whatever the success rate, Siliguri residents still do not consider fashion designing as the best career choice for their children.

“In most cases we have seen that parents do not want their children to pursue fashion designing. Their small-town outlook makes them look down upon it because of which children often do not get the right support,”Kuntanil said. “Secondly, this is one career, where one needs to make an investment at the initial stages, specially here, where the industry is not completely organised. One has to plan several things on one's own, which is one big problem for beginners. But with time, such problems will be sorted out,” he added.