YOUNG DESIGN TRAIL BLAZERS: JD ANNUAL AWARDS 2019 KOCHI

The Kochi edition of JD Annual Awards set against the picturesque state of Kerala was held at Grand Hyatt, Bolgatty on 29th June 2019. The showcase put forth by the students from Interior, Jewellery and Fashion was a culmination of rigorous brainstorming by the students with the help from their respective faculties, research and the end product. The students work was witnessed by their peers; some of the prominent names in Kochi along with our Management.

The respective collections centered around the year’s theme – “CURATOR” which emphasized on a 360-degree design innovation. Apart from concentrating on their designs the students had to incorporate the ethos of the Institute – Sustainability, and Innovation into their product/collection. The premise of a theme based collection enables the students to draw inspiration from various sources like historical, a dying art form, traditional practices or a topic of social relevance that resonates with them and they care enough to draw attention to the medium through their collection.

The show commenced with an exhibition presented by students of Jewellery and Interior Design. The students of jewellery design incorporated elements inspired by gothic architecture, stained glass windows and the colour white inspired by the vestments of the priests; resin, moss, oxidized silver and baguette were included in a design inspired by the ancient city of Babylon and Hanging Gardens; a unisex collection made of gold, copper and silver which was inspired by the Lord Shiva’s dangerous emotion Anger and copper alongwith red fine stones derived by the coronation ceremony. The students of interior design presented multi-purpose furniture that can be converted into – a normal coffee table, a bench, and a lounge chair and was inspired by the free flow movement of the snake; new flooring technique using natural materials to create a stone finish which was inspired from stone fruit floors in South Africa founded by Alla le Roux; and use of a fungus called mycelium and organic waste to create sustainable lampshades.

The fashion design students presented 20 collections with 130+ garments. The students experimented with natural dyes made out of flowers and use of scoby; yoga wear made out of khadi, revival of Kunbi sarees; innovation of prints achieved through geometric pixilation; creating a collection inspired by the Aghori sadhus; androgynous collection inspired by
Razia Sultan; women empowerment by the Vijayanagar Empire; usage of three techniques mirror work; aari work with block printing; ode to the Jazz age; Barbie inspired garments; biker jackets; MET Gala theme; floral inspired suits; crystalline bridal wear, resort wear inspired by Trogon used an allegory of inner beauty; occasion wear inspired by mystic knot; dance costumes inspired by the neon tetra fish; casual wear inspired by Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow; experimental women’s occasion wear derived from the garments worn by ancient Hindu saints; usage of komucha tea to dye fabrics for their respective collections.

The grand finale was graced by some of Kochi’s noteworthy stars who took time from their busy schedules to be a part of the evening and walking in garments by our student – Ace celebrity fashion photographers in Kerala, Reji Bhaskar; Model and actor, Shiyas Kareem; Fashion choreographer, show director, model, actor and entrepreneur Dr. Ajit Ravi; Celebrity Radio Jockey, author, vlogger and social influencer, Joseph Annamkutty Jose; Creative Director and Academic Head of JD Institute of Fashion Technology, Zulfiker Ali; Actor, model and entrepreneur, Niyas Mohammed;  Ace fashion choreographer Dalu Krishnadas; Kochi’s very own ‘Fashion Icon’, and fashion designer Hari Anand; Composer, music director, playback singer, instrumentalist and voice trainer from the Malyalam film industry Alphons Joseph.

It was a prestigious and gratified moment for us to see our students succeeding with their ideation and bringing a meaning to their designs.