Thaindian News

New Delhi, Sep 12 (IANS) Meghalaya is the new fashion destination. The first edition of Shillong Fashion Week (SFW) has got the green signal and it will see talent from the North-East region showcasing creations with tribal influence.

As many as 16 designers will showcase their collection at the two-day fashion gala schedule to take place at the North Eastern Hills University (NEHU) convention centre from Oct 19.

Out of 16 designers, six are from Meghalaya, two from Manipur, one from Mizoram and one from Arunchal Pradesh have been confirmed till date. Rest of the six finalised yet.

“For this season, day one is dedicated to the tribes, so one of the basic criterion that is needed to be the part of this fashion week is have to have some kind of tribal origin and technical background. We thought let’s push designers from our region as they have never got such kind of backbone,” Julie Deb, marketing director told IANS on the sidelines of announcing the event.

“The participating designers are very excited to be the part of this event. Also, we have dedicated the the first edition as the Year of Youth so all the participating designers are not only young, but also very innovative,” she added.

The fashion week is initiated by the state of Meghalaya under the leadership of the Mukul Sangma, chief minister of the state.

According to Nathaniel Weller Rynjah, creative director of SFW, the aim to organise the fashion week is to promote Shillong as the next fashion hub of the northeast.

“Shillong is one of the main education spots for northeast, hence the state is basically the hub of youth. So why not make it a next fashion hub. With Shillong being considered very fashionable city, we also realised that there is so much potential within the city and this is the reason why we wanted to promote it,” said Rynjah.

Established designers Anand Bhushan, Guaurav and Ritika, Dev r Nil and Nachiket Barve will also participate in it.