Designer hearts: Fashion design students tailored more than 200 designer garments for underprivileged children

NT Features

These are students with beautiful hearts. A group of fashion design students from Vogue Institute of Art & Design designed and tailored around 225 designer garments for the children of Shishu Mandir, an orphanage at KR Puram in Bengaluru.

Vogue institution has been focusing on providing training that promotes employable skills and enhances social relevance. The initiative was undertaken by the students with the help of the faculty of the fashion department.

Shishu Mandir provides free and holistic education to children from impoverished backgrounds, with an emphasis on educating the girl child.

They also run a school from kindergarten until standard tenth, a vocational training centre, and a child care facility for children below the age of 6, besides, of course, a home for orphaned and destitute children.

For the children it was a day of absolute bliss to see designer garments like pretty floral A line and ankle length dresses, flared pants, long skirts and smart shirts in brilliant, eye-catching colours. The outfits were made keeping in mind the different sizes of children between the age group of 8 to 14 years.

The garments incorporate comfortable design features, colour schemes and silhouettes and are made in cotton, linen, chiffon and silk materials. The garments are easy to maintain, compatible to wear and eco-friendly too.

The excitement among the children was palpable. “I am very excited to wear the sports outfit gifted to me for our upcoming sports event,” said 15-yearold M.Shivakumar. Eightyear-old Aleeya Banu M was the happy recipient of a pretty gown. “I am so happy to get this gown. When I wear it I feel like a princess,” she said.

Swathi said she was thrilled to get a dress of her liking. “I always wanted to wear a frilly pink colour dress; however, designer clothes are a dream for a girl like me. I will wear this dress on my birthday,” said a beaming Swathi.

Distributing the outfits at a special event Nishank Kariappa, General Manager, Vogue Institute of Art and Design said, “As an institute we strongly believe in giving back to society. We want to support underp r i v i l e g e d students by donating designer garments by our fashion design students. Even our faculty members have put in extra efforts to go beyond their assignments by helping the students to design and sew the clothes.”

Speaking about the donation drive, Dr. Vijaykumar, Director, Vogue Institute of Art and Design said, “We at Vogue understand the importance of nurturing human values and responsible citizens. The academic programme at the Institution thus also involves activities that promote societal commitment. Our students have designed and developed these garments keeping in mind sustainability and amicability.

“The faculty members too have made a humble contribution to the donation drive. The purpose of the activity is to raise empathetic human beings among the graduates and also let them know their role in making the world a better place to live for the underprivileged community,” he further added.

Addressing the gathering, Vandana Kumar, President, Shishu Mandir Institutions said, “On behalf of Shishu Mandir, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude for the generosity shown by the students of Vogue Institute of Art and Design who have so thoughtfully tailored these designer garments for less privileged children. We are proud to be associated with a leader in the fashion industry, and more so, one that never loses sight of caring for the community in which it operates”.