India’s leading institution in design, fashion, business and media hosted the latest edition of its annual graduating showcase – Portfolio 2019.  While Noida and New Delhi Portfolio events were hosted at the Pearl Academy campuses on 4^th-5^th and 8^th-9^th May respectively, Mumbai Portfolio was hosted at Sahara Star Hotel on 13^th May and Jaipur Portfolio at Birla Auditorium on 17^th May.

Pearl Portfolio Mumbai Fashion Show

Over 1400 graduating students showcased their exceptional creative maturity and imagination power through their projects; to thousands of industry guests, parents, design intenders and media personnel. Eminent personalities like Neelam Arora, Creative Head, Fab India Overseas Ltd.; Sundeepa Bamval Mandal, Head Designer, Zara; Ashwini Deshpande, Co-founder, Director, Elephant Strategy & Design; Madhav Raman, Architect and Urbanist; Vaishali S., celebrated fashion designer; Adwaita Nayar, CEO – Nykaa; Cory Walia, Make-up Artist; Diva Dhavan, Model; Sadashiv Nayak, CEO Future Retail; and Swetank Jain, Chief People’s Officer and Chief Communication Officer, Future Group, Jagrati Shringi, CTO, Voylla, Tarang Arora, Founder, Amrapali, Architect Shamini Shanker graced the events at various locations. Over 500 graduating students of Fashion had the opportunity to showcase at India’s most coveted fashion show FDCI’s India Fashion Week earlier this year in March at Delhi.

Driven by the passion to create an impact on the society, students of Pearl Academy showcased creative solutions to the challenging problems that exist today. Some of the interesting projects were:

• A communication design student from Pearl Academy, Noida, Tanmaya Bhatnagar, through her project Supriyaa, My Mother, tried to revisit the memories of growing up with her mother suffering from Schizophrenia. The project presents the story of a mother-daughter relationship caught in the complexities of the disease. Tanmaya used a creative approach to change the general attitude of the people towards those suffering from mental illness and the stigma attached to the disease.

• Noida campus’ fashion design student Nikita Bhuttan’s collection was inspired by deconstructing trash for fashion. With an aim to focus on Sustainable Thinking, Nikita showcased the latest in eco-fashion by upcycling waste from a dead, dry tree and unconventional materials such as zippers and yarns.

• Delhi campus’ Fashion Media Communication student, Bhavnoor Monicha developed a newspaper tabloid known as 'Pantogram' inspired by Pantone and colour wheel that would provide information to the readers about fashion and colour trends.

• Architecture & Design student from Delhi, Arjun Chandnani’s project ‘I think we all are blind’ aims to improve the living condition of the visually impaired and help create a surrounding where they are treated equally and made to feel that they are part of the society.

• Mumbai campus’ Post Graduate Communication Design student, Aayushi Drolia created an online book with illustrations, which highlights specific areas in Mumbai that makes it easier to find spots while exploring the city. Each area of Mumbai had been separately mapped with food, drinks, nightlife and more

• Swastika Somani, a Post Graduate Communications student, worked on a project analyzing the influence of icons on fashion trends, including the likes of Meghan Markle and Kylie Jenner, in the form of a website.

• Jaipur campus’ Uttara Sharma, a jewellery Design student, blended traditional technique with new technology in her collection titled ‘Search for the Little’.

• Divya Singh, a student from Interior Architecture and Design, created a ‘House of Worship’ where self-reflection is centre stage for the millennials to be able to delve deep and analyze their behaviour, priorities and aspirations to become better human beings.

Some of the pressing issues faced by luxury, retail, fashion and media industry were also deliberated on, through panel discussions with industry guests at the event. Each event hosted a glitzy and glamorous fashion show. From apparel that infuses LED technology with fluid fabrics to create retractable clothing that will help prevent assault, to clothing inspired by India’s traffic woes and beauty in cacophony to more effervescent fabrics and modern rethinking of block printing, each collection on the ramp showcased the storehouse of talent that is ingrained in each and every one of the presenting student designers.

Commenting on the occasion, Prof. Nandita Abraham, President, Pearl Academy said, “For the last 26 years we have provided our students with a culture of innovation, design and creative thinking along with the right mentors to make them successful in their chosen fields. I am amazed to see the creative potential of our students in finding solutions to real-world problems. I wish them the very best for their future endeavours.”

Pearl Portfolio has been a signature event of Pearl Academy for more than 26 years and has been an annual launch pad showcasing the work of graduating students. In the recent times, students have also showcased their work at India Fashion week, Pune Design Festival and other global platforms like New York Fashion Week, Dubai Design Week, London Graduate Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week etc. Pearl Academy students have found placement in companies like IBM, Accenture, NDTV, Evok, TCS, Capgemini, L&T, Louis Vuitton, Caratlane etc. and in design houses like Raghavendra Rathore, Shantanu & Nikhil amongst many others.

About Pearl Academy

Pearl Academy, India’s leading institution in design, fashion, business, and media has been a catalyst for success of the students across creative industries for 26 years. Pearl Academy offers over 30 uniquely designed under-graduate, post-graduate, and professional development through its campuses in Delhi, Noida, Jaipur, and Mumbai. Its reputation of preparing ‘Industry ready’ professionals has been recognized by leading fashion, retail, and design brands, which has helped in establishing a healthy track record of over 95 per cent placement for the last three years. Its path-breaking alliances with renowned organizations such as the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), Association of Designers of India (ADI), and Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID) have ensured that its faculty and students get exclusive access to ‘industry in the classroom’.

The institution was ranked as the best private fashion college in India for the fifth consecutive year by India Today survey, MDRA, and Outlook Drshti Survey. Pearl Academy was awarded the ‘Best Design Institute in India’ by industry body ASSOCHAM for three years in a row in 2016, 2017, and 2018. It is the only Indian institute to feature in Business of Fashion’s Top 25 Global Fashion School Rankings (Graduate) in 2017 and has been recognized as a Great Indian Institute 2018 by Forbes and Great Place to Study. The Jaipur campus of the Academy was ranked as one of the most beautiful college campuses in India by India Today. The institution was also awarded as ‘Best Education Brands 2017’ in Fashion Design Category by The Economic Times.

Pearl Academy is also closely associated with renowned global institutions such as Torrens University, Australia; University of Derby, UK; Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, US; Domus Academy, Italy; Media Design School, New Zealand among many others.

For more information, please visit: www.pearlacademy.com.