Cottoning on

Though cotton is traditionally seen as a non-glamorous dress material, it has come under the spotlight thanks to a reality show

Cottoning on

Though cotton is traditionally seen as a non-glamorous dress material, it has come under the spotlight thanks to a reality show

Sachit Bhatia, a senior consultant (fashion practice textile and apparel) at Technopak Advisors, manages the account of cotton council international (CCI), representing the council in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. CCI is organising a reality show 'Let's Design' to popularise cotton. Throwing more light on the competition, Sachit says, "It's a fashion design competition based on a reality show. We had called for entries panu2013India on Zoom and went to colleges in five cities. We received 600 entries from all over India, and selected the top 100."

Out of the 100, CCI is now selecting 16 who will be in the reality show in Delhi. There, three judges Deepika Govind, Asmita Marwa and Karunesh Vohra will select the final 16. The channel will start airing exclusive coverage from March 14, 2009. All 16 will have a workshop to themselves and they will be working as individuals, with various tasks on design elements.

"We are looking at good designers. We have received entries from architects and even software engineers. Garments have to be based on 95 per cent or more cotton. But they can use embellishments, accessories and functional parts that are not made out of cotton."

"What's the whole thing about cotton being fashionable?" I wondered and pat came the reply, "We are promoting cotton as a fashionable fabric. We are involved with the generic cotton education programme in India, including oversight of retail promotions and agency relations. We have been promoting cotton over the last three years. We have roped in Bollywood celebrities to talk about cotton in order to create a fashionable image of cotton."

Discussing the TV foray, Sachit says, "This is our first foray in television, as we believe it will have a larger audience. When you do an on-ground activity we can reach all nooks and corners of India and also from other countries as well. There will be one final winner and two other winners in different categories."

Highlighting the practical nature of the creations, he says that there will also be an office-wear round. "What the contestants get is a chance to be on a reality show that will feature only the best designers. In addition, there are also some cash prizes."

And how does Sachit plan to handle the conflicts one usually finds at a reality show? He avers, "We are organisers and have hired a third party, which will design the whole process and the show. They will be monitoring the whole show."

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