Rediscovering the Fashion of Cliched Crinoline

Fashion heavily draws inspiration from the bygone eras and for the students of Whistling Woods- NeetaLulla School of Fashion, historic fashion holds high significance.

Fashion students, Amrita Banarjee, Yashmita Bane, and Nivedidha Koliyot have taken a chapter from the Victorian era to create something marvelous. They chose to create a modern adaptation of the Crinoline skirt dating back to the Victorian times. This choice stemmed out of the intriguing history of the skirt.

    

Crinoline originated in the early 1800s and was originally a stiff fabric made from the weft of horse-hair and warp of cotton or linen thread. But by 1850s it became to be the stiffened petticoat or the rigid skirt-shaped structure of steel designed to support the shape of the skirt of a woman’s dress. As the silhouettes of the skirts grew wider and heavier, the styles of the petticoat kept changing to support the skirt.

Initially called the hoop skirt, open cage or frame style, Crinolines were bulky and uncomfortable. But later, they were made light and it reduced the amount of petticoat to one or two. These petticoats prevented the steel bands from showing like ridges in the skirt. It also provided freedom from massive amount of petticoats and the cost of maintaining so many. 

Fashion publications popularized this new fashion of the time and Crinoline was an overnight success it was widely accepted by the middle class Victorian society and slowly adopted by the affluent.

Within a decade, the Crinoline skirt underwent a change when the dome-shape skirt gave way to a flattened front and side, leaving volume only at the back. And then as time passed, the style of the crinoline kept varying till there was no need anymore.

Now the Crinoline skirts exist to be an important element of fashion. The students of Whistling Woods- Neeta Lulla School of Fashion explored Boho Chic, Bohemian, Gothic, and eight other looks using the crinolines. While one created a modern chic, summery look by layering it with a floral printed skirt and one shoulder top, another student, Nivedidha, created a gothic chic look, with a bandana, a skirt with quirky prints and a black top! In all, it was a great experience exploring the bygone Victorian fashion element and incorporating the same in contemporary looks!

Inspiring Fashion Illustrations From Around the World

Illustration is the key element to fashion design and is celebrated more in today’s time and rightly so! Fashion schools worldwide are encouraging aspirants to indulge in their fashion fantasies, through elaborate illustrations, based on which their dream designs take shape. To be able to bring out the best, one needs inspirations not from the past but also from the present. Here are some of the best fashion illustrator from around the world and their works.

David Downton:

David Downton has a reputation for being one of the leading fashion artists today. His contribution to fashion illustration is considered noteworthy for reviving the art. With dark ink outlines, David’s signature style is classically elegant that blends with the contemporary sensibility.

David Downton (Image Source: Google)

Arturo Elena:

A fashion illustrator from Terule, Spain, Arturo Elenais one of the most sought after artists. His work has a caricature element to them that is charismatic. The men and women in his illustrations have a flair of extravagance and are drawn in an elongated and exaggerated manner. The backdrop of the artwork is lavish and the overall work is an incredible composition of textures and colors.  

Arturo Elena (Image Source: Google)

Laura Laine:

A marvelous fashion illustrator from Finland, Laura Laine has been known to express herself through her art. She claims to be not conscious about her drawing style because her portrayal depends on her mood. Her illustrations exude a prominent sense of melancholy.

Laura Laine (Image Source: Google)

Tanya Ling:

Born in Calcutta, India, Tanya Ling’s fashion illustrations have been exhibited internationally along with being featured in various leading news dailies and publications. She is also an amazing fashion designer and in 2003, she was named the most significant trendsetter by British ‘Vogue’. 

Tanya Ling (Image Source: Google)

Danny Roberts:

Danny Roberts is known to portray high-end fashion scene with an air of wit and eccentricity. His portraits illustrate a fresh perspective to fashion. Danny’s works have been featured in leading magazines like Elle and Vogue, apart from being associated with names like Tiffany & Company, Forever 21 and Gwen Stephani’s ‘Harajuku Lovers’.

Danny Roberts (Image Source: Google)

Such great talents can definitely prompt aspirants to sketch their own fashion dreams. But along with inspiration, one requires knowledge and right mentoring. At Whistling Woods - Neeta Lulla School of Fashion, the various courses can refine and hone your skills as a fashion illustrator and help you sketch your dreams! 

Changing Face of Fashion Business: Future of Fashion Forum

The Future of Fashion Forum that took place on 24^th January, 2015, an initiation by Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion in which the very best of the fashion industry was present. The main focus of the event was to share the knowledge and insights with the aspirants along with giving an opportunity to the fashion fanatics to interact with the very best from the fashion world.

The day kicked off with an interesting session on Developing the Fashion Ecosystem which was followed by an equally interesting session on the Changing Face of Fashion Business. India is entering a new phase in the fashion business where e-commerce is taking root and the fashion world has become more competitive. To deal with these and more topics renowned Fashion Designer Gaviin Migule, the Managing Partner of Exclusively.in Mohini Boparai, and the Fashion Director of Verve Magazine Nisha Jhangiani were present.

All the panel members stressed, on the importance of ‘building your brand, identify your audience and then dig in deep down, research to understand your audience.’ To this Mohini Boparai, added, “Know your target audience, and talk to them in a language that appeals to them.”

In the recent years, there are more fashion outlets coming up online than one cares to count. Moreover, fashion is subjected to change, trends are broken and created every day and in this ever changing market you need to get your brand across. In this matter, Mohini Boparai commented that, “A fashion e-commerce site has to keep catering newness to its clientele with new collection and products.” In order to be in the e-commerce platform “balancing the power of digital and print is vital to reach the audience” Nisha Jhangiani added.

Gaviin Migule shared his views on the current fashion scenario, but it was his insightful advice to the aspiring designer saying that, “Be true to yourself and be passionate about what you create” that made a lasting impact giving a beautiful conclusion.  

Visual Merchandising by Aspiring Students

Education in its own right is important; after all it sets a strong foundation to build your career on. This idea is applicable to every field, be it a career in the fields of academics or if you want to run free in the creative field. Fashion designing and the various fields inspired by the fashion world follows the same idea. But the catch comes when you realize theoretical education is not enough. Piratical knowledge is imperative and more so in some fields than the others. Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion implements these ideas into their curriculum to give the young aspirant all round training. The most recent example of this is our students collaborating with two outlets of Shoppers Stop to display their skills in Visual Merchandising.

Ten students divided themselves into two groups and collaborated with Shoppers Stop outlets in Chembur and Andheri respectively. They explored and enhanced their Visual Merchandising knowledge by putting them to practical use. They conceptualized and created the store window for both these outlets.    
  

The first group that took over the Shoppers Stop store in Chembur created a wedding display. With the wedding season just around the corner, the brides-to-be will be on the lookout for their dream wedding wear. The students explored this possibility by showcasing a ‘Contemporary Indian Bride’.

The main focus of the display was a dramatic drape of 2 saris that was selected from the in-store brand 'Kashish'. A mannequin was dressed in a fancy turban and draped in a sari.

Rattrap cages hung displaying shoes from the brand. A jewelry chest displayed the best from ‘Kashish’ and ’Haute Curry’. Satin curtains, red carpets, and hanging mirrors gave an elegant wedding feel to the display.

The second group dwelled on the lure of unconquered and unexplored thrills and fear alike. The window display at Andheri’s Shoppers Stop was a ride to the crest of a thrill confronting fear and venturing into the unknown.

Smashing mental and physical barriers, they swing open the doors to new frontiers, possibilities, and hope. The display was a tribute to the cornerstone of human evolution- an evolution from the deep dark caves of stone-age to the deep dark alleys of this universe. IJeans Wear was chosen for the quintessential explorer. Every article used for the display signified an explorer’s experience.

The two displays by the students showed their varied skills and prepared them a little more for the practical world.

An Eventful Day for Fashion Aspirants.

At Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion, we firmly believe in imparting training through fashion stalwarts in this field. For this very purpose, a Master Class on Visual Merchandising was organized for the aspirants. Gracing the stage for the Master Class was an ace in the field of Visual Merchandising and Styling, Karan Berry. He is also the name behind the brand, Karleo.

Visual Merchandising is a stream of fashion designing that involves learning how to present a store and its merchandise in a manner which will be eye catching, attracting potential customers. The master gave an opportunity to the students to learn from the best and absorb his teachings. The various components and characteristics associated with Visual Merchandising were talked about in the master class. These topics helped the students in realizing that creative and innovative ideas go a long way towards creating a visually stimulating environment in a store.     

On the basis of the knowledge and understanding the students gained from Karan Berry, they were given a task. The task entailed the creation of a Visual Merchandising showcase that was displayed across various locations throughout the college. Under the expert guidance of Karan Berry, who mentored the aspirant through the task, the project was divided into five areas of visual merchandising which are- perfume, food, women’s wear, men’s accessories and home décor. Using the knowledge gained and their own creativity, each group proudly presented their displays.   

Moreover, the fashionistas spent their past Saturday attending the Fashion Dialogue Series which was all about taking a step into the fashion industry. For the event, the founders of Karleo Fashion, Karan Berry and Leon Vaz graced the stage.

They shared their insights regarding the fashion world and spoke about the dos and don’ts of the fashion world. There was an interactive dialogue between the fashion experts Karan Berry and Leon Vaz and the aspirants. The event also held a session on Hairstyling and Makeup workshops that the attendees thoroughly enjoyed.

These events, workshops and master class are a more engaging way of learning something new. This gives the student to interact with the best of industry while giving them a larger platform to exhibit their talent.      

A Small Talk on Luxury Brands

  “Luxury is the necessity that begins where necessity ends”- Coco Channel     

Donning an Armani suit or a Gucci dress while carrying a Louis Vuitton and riding in a Mercedes-Benz, now that would be life! Living a luxurious life is everyone’s ultimate goal in life, a concept that has turned into a full-fledged market today. Luxury brands, a part of the huge business market, yet apart from anything existing. According to traditional definition luxury is a state of great comfort or elegance, especially when involving great expense or an inessential, desirable item which is expensive or difficult to obtain, or more simply put a pleasure obtained rarely. Now there is a whole a market for Luxury Brands making that rare pleasure slightly more obtainable, of course it is for the elite, but then again each one of us is striving to get there, creating a huge demand for Luxury Brands.

The Luxury market is an all encompassing industry which includes fashion, accessories, automobiles and much, much more. In the economic sense luxury goods or luxury brands are something for which as demand increases as income does. Luxury Brands on the other hand is regarded as images on the minds of consumers who associate that image or brand with fine quality, something rare, extraordinary, exquisite and pricey. Luxury Brands have gained memento over the years, and have emerged in every branch of industry, from fashion to automobile to travel every business of Luxury Brands attached to them.

Abhay Gupta, Founder and CEO, Luxury Content and also the recipient of Luxury Retail Icon, 2012 was at Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion sharing some useful insight on Luxury Brands. According him to quality and knowledge are the keys to evolve as a professional in the luxury market segment. 

A Luxury Brands are looking for different skill sets in a resource and the learners should be knowledgeable equipped. Expanding your thinking and knowledge across different segment of business will help you evolve as a professional in the Luxury Market. The Hybrid Luxury Market is evolving enormously and creating enviable employment opportunities for equipped professionals. Moreover, Luxury Market and Brands are immune to recession and the industry grows at an average of 20% every year.

Abhay Gupta is also the first one to establish India’s firsts Luxury Boutique Business School. Luxury Brands in India still have to gain more strength and root themselves into stronger grounds. In India consumers still tend to prefer international brands, but the vast and elusive industry has been in an ever changing mode.          

Designing Costumes for Films

Sridevi’s blue sari from Mr. India or Madhuri Dixit’s purple one from Hum Aapke Hain Kaun have set trends in their days, and in the recent years almost all looks donned by actresses like Kareena Kapoor or Katrina Kaif in their movies have made fashion statements. 

                                

The world of cinema reaches wide taking fashion with it and though a fashion designer is the one creating the outfits, but the credit for the fabulous looks is also shared by a Costume Designer who puts the look of the character together.

A Costume Designer is someone who is responsible for designing costumes for theater or movies. There has always been a misconception that a Fashion Designer and a Costume Designer are one and the same profession. They may belong to the same domain, but they are far from being the same. A Fashion Designer solely creates for him/herself and a Costume Designer creates to define a character.

The job description of a Costume Designer entitles them to work closely with the director, writer and everyone involved creatively with the film. Their designs are based on the script of the film or drama. Here garments are adding and enhancing the character according to the story and a designer has to make sure that they get the costumes of the characters absolutely right because many a times the way a character is dressed defines their role. This is especially applicable for period movies as a culture of an era can be reflected in the clothes of that time for which a designer cannot commit an error. Indian movies are very colorful and of a wide range of genres. A single movie can represent the varied facets of our society and a designer has to create different looks that are associated with all those facets.   

    Neeta Lulla                           Manish Malhotra                         Xerxes Bhathena             

Neeta Lulla is an excellent role model for young costume designers. Manish Malhotra and Xerxes Bhathena are some of the names that have started their career as costume designers.

Any aspirant entering this line of work has to follow more or less the same career path as a Fashion Designer. The first step of which is of course formal education and from there the next step is making your portfolio and internship. A costume designer needs to have the talent of a fashion designer along with the creative sensibility to understand the character for which they are creating the look. Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion is one of the few fashion institutes which encompass these different aspects and gives a chance to explore boundaries.

Fashion Jazzed Up

One of the most glorious eras in history was the 1920’s. The jazz, the clubs and everything that was prohibited found a voice during this time. By the end of World War One, there was a sense of optimism in the air, but the loss and destruction was immense. The only country to reap any benefits was America. Their contribution of arms and ammunition made America a very prosperous country. And the start of the 20^th century saw drastic changes; it seems that society was purging the war away. Morality blurred and society became more liberal. Fashion was obviously affected, along with ideas, and fashion too became liberal.

One of the factors that influenced this change in fashion was the evolving role of women. With men busy with the war, women started sharing the role of the bread-earner and after the completion of the war this continued. This brought about a change in the way women dressed; trousers crept into their wardrobes, and the dresses lost length, but fashion was still conservative but soon changing.

              

The 1920’s were about living in the moment, instant gratification became the way of living. The entertainment industry accelerated with silent movies and music changed with comets and trumpets creating jazz in the expert hands of Louis Armstrong. Another thing that has gained prominence during this time was a phenomenon called the ‘Roaring Twenties’.

This new found freedom and the need of instant gratification were reflected in the fashion. Clubs were on the rise and no matter the lack of legality of these establishments they became the hub where people exercised this liberalization.

Men’s fashion was known by high waist jackets paired with a belt and hats. 

On the other hand a ‘new class’ of women emerged called the ‘Flappers’ with bobbed hair, who wore short skirts with hair bands with feathers tucked, a long string of pearls, along with dramatically lined lips as a ‘cupid’s bow’ and smoky eyes who listened to jazz and visited the clubs. 

They were considered impetuous because of their excessive makeup, drinking, smoking and having casual relationships. They listened to jazz, danced, drank and wore dazzling clothes.

The fashion style of the 1920s has been so exceptionally stunning that the students of Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion had to recreate it. 

Under the expert guidance of Belinda Bawa and taking inspiration from the ‘The Great Gatsby’, a classic example, the students designed their first shoot for a specific look. The scenario was an underground club. 

The task was more challenging because along with their own designs they had to create looks for models too. The students had a fabulous time and were able to capture the essence of 1920’s fashion beautifully.

The Art of Embroidery

We all had needlework lessons in school, which we very reluctantly learned. Embroidery is one of the many forgotten lessons from school, but more than that it is an ancient form which has persisted till date thanks to people with passion and skill for the art. Generally yarn or thread is used for embroidery, but metal strips, pearls, beads, quills and sequins are also incorporated. Besides this the biggest quality of embroidery is that it is one art form that has always stayed in the fashion. Techniques that were practiced ages ago like chain stitch, blanket stitch (buttonhole), running stitch, satin stitch and cross stitch still remain the basis for hand embroidery.  

This art form has been in existence for centuries. In fact, embroidery can be traced back to the 3^rd century. The process used to tailor, patch, mend and reinforce cloth fostered the development of sewing techniques and the decorative possibilities of sewing led to the art of embroidery. The industrial revolution led to the invention of machines, and this proved to be a slow but steady boost for the art form. 

In India the styles and techniques for embroidery keep switching from region to region, giving it diverse forms. Designs are formed on the basis of the texture of the fabric and the stitch. The circle, the square, the dots and the alternate dot, the triangle and the combinations of these make up the design.

Zardosi Embroidery 

One of the most elaborate and tiresome kind of embroidery is the Zardosi. Here metallic threads are used over the usual silk or rayon. The fabric, silk and velvet are generally used, on which the pattern is marked by the craftsman and embroidered with metallic thread and stones and beads are embellished. Another well known style in India is the Ari work that is done by stretching the fabric on a frame and stitching with a long needle. This also holds sequins, beads and most other embellishment. 

                   

Chikan 

Phulkari 

   

There is Kashmiri embroidery, Chikan from Lucknow and Phulkari from Punjab region are just few. 

English Crewelwork

Embroidery as an art form has its presences in all cultures at all times, from England to Japan, and every other place which makes it a rather broad area of discussion. 

Japanese Kimono Embroidery 

Someone pursuing a career in fashion should be well aware about the different kinds and techniques of embroidery. Taking this very idea into consideration, the Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion organized an Embroidery workshop which was conducted by an acclaimed embroidery artisan, Mr. Izhar. He helped students understand the different mediums and technique of embroidery. The students not only gained knowledge but also had gala time learning more about this age-old art that still has so much to offer in this day and age.