Day Nineteen

At the final day of our stay in India , we were very busy with photoshooting and organization of the fashion show. As some Indian students were volunteer to make modeling for us we proceeded to the crafts market, Shilparamam, where we could find a variety of venues relevant to the project themes.

At 5.00 pm. everyone was ready for the show. After an introductory speech Şölen presented each design with an emphasis on their concepts and design language .The speech was accompanied by the catwalk.

Designed by Başak Cankeş-Adidi Sharma

Out of the differences and similarities between facial expressions of both cultures , the students developed multi layered outfit in natural tones. In this design the structure represents the idea of concealment and exposure of the female figure.Decorative elements such as needlework and blockprinting Anatolian motifs are the communicative symbols.

Designed by Müge Elmacılar – Mayur Bhansali

The students focused on the relationship between the dance style of Sufism and Indian classical dance. By incorporating a variety of musical instruments from both cultures they expanded on their source material for design inspiration.The structure in the garment and accessories was influenced greatly by the rythmic tourling movement of dance. The form of musical instruments were also inspirational for structural elements.

Designed by Ayşegül Göçen – Merve Sepetoğlu – Manas Ranjan

In this project the students studied two celebrated architectural masterpieces from both cultures, Taj Mahal and the Hagia Sophia. They were mainly inspired by decorative structural elements and the motifs in both buildings.The overall silhouette is reflective of the dome shapes in each building.


Designed by Yasemin Biricik – Shaivya Ruchi

The students researched the Islamic connection between Turkey and India but focused primarily on the motifs and architecture. By abstracting their research they were able to create a structurally striking garment. By manipulating the surface of the silk cotton into channelled pleats, they simulated the geometric structure of the buildings.The decorative suede piece on the garment illustrates Indian floral motifs, this is also evident on the headwear. The shoes also have been designed specifically to complement the outfit.

Designed by Burcu Yıldız –Ruchika Gupta

Inspired by the traditional henna night, performed before the wedding ceremony in both cultures, this outfit is contemporary design solution unrelated to the wedding dress.The students focused on various important symbols related to wedding ceremony,the peacock and candles, these were abstracted to create structural elements within their design.

Designed by Olgay Ergin – Rohan Sabharwal

Olgay and Rohan started that project together , but unfortunately as you all know Rohan due to his serious health problem had to leave. We wish him a speedy recovery.
The project concentrates on the symbolic body ornamentation from Indian culture, called Sadhu, this was combined with the Evil Eye of Turkish culture. Olgay used the geometric colour blocked applique to portray the Sadhu symbols and evil eye within the garment. Braided fabrci details were used in reference to hairstyles of the Sadhu holymen.Shoes are designed by Vidhi Jaiswal at the very end of the process.

Designed by Derya Gürbüz – Shwetank Kumar

In this project the students were inspired by the subculture of Gypsy in both India and Turkey.They mainly focused on the lifestyle , and mobility of these people and interpreted theri colurful traditional costumes in to a hybrid contemporary ready to wear outfit. The manipulation of fabrics was imperative to this project,embroidery, quilting , beading, and patchwork were widely used. Turkish felt and contemporary Indian

patterns are combined to best effect.

Designed by Begüm Kapan – Abilasha Choudhary

The students focused on a combination of Indian and Islamic calligraphy, including the Turkish art of calligraphy, Hat, which added a more spiritual approach to the mapping.
Primarily by draping the fabric these students have created an elaborate high-end hybrid outfit.The silhoutte is composed of three pieces, a a tunic jacket, a shalwar and a draped bustier.The contemporary shalwar is an interpretation of the traditional garment found in both cultures.The tunic jacket is cross between Turkish kaftan and Indian tunic, the draped bands drawn inspiration from calligraphic lines.

After the show , the celebration continued by tasting Turkish delight, giving gifts, and finally dancing in a pub.

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Day Eighteen

The day before the final show , the students almost completed their garments. When they were busy with refining them, and finalising accessories and styling , some Indian journalists visited the pattern cutting studio and took some pictures.

Day Seventeen

Today the students continued to develop their patterns, cut fabric and assemble their garments in their groups. At eleven o’clock, Şölen and Angela were invited to a jury in the conference hall where second year students presented their work to a panel. In groups of 6-8 students, they had set off to various remote parts of India to carry out an in-depth research into a variety of traditional crafts.
The craft of Phulkari which originates in Punjabi (East India /West Pakistan) is a precise embroidery with geometrical motifs. Another presentation focused on Kasavu Kala saris which are designed especially for religious rituals, made in cream cotton and embroidered with gold ornamental borders. Chamba is a figurative craft and takes its inspiration from Hindu mythology. Kantha was the most interesting, this is a form of top-stitching on recycled fabrics, mainly saris, which traditional they remake into blankets and mattresses. The students developed a more contemporary ready-to wear collection using the same method of stitching. We watched several students labourously stitching their fabrics in our studio, it was a very intricate process and even a small section can take up to one week to complete.

In the meanwhile, the Indian-Turkish students worked late into the night to complete their designs.

Day Sixteen

After sourcing their fabrics, the students were finally ready to produce their patterns. This is the most intensive part of the design process, so the students worked continuously from morning to late night, lunch was even delivered so that they had no need to leave the studio and their work. The Turkish students were very much inspired by the fabrics which they found in the local markets and paid particular attention to utilizing the fabrics to their full potential in the most creative way possible. There is a good energy in the studio, with an Indian and Turkish music soundtrack, as the students tried to finalize the garments before the fittings and photo shoot in tomorrow morning.

Day Fifteen

After a rather busy weekend of sightseeing, Monday morning started slowly. Over the weekend, students had been asked to make any final adjustments to their skecthes, and on Monday morning, Şölen and Angela had one final look at the designs before allowing students to travel into the city in search of fabrics. Most of the students from Izmir had brought a selection of Turkish fabrics with them which were used as a starting reference point but it was now time for the Indian students to source the equivalent from their culture to be incorporated into the final designs.After consulting the pattern making instructor Shobha Uppae and the technician Prajima regarding how much fabric they required,they spent the afternoon in Charminar, the district where many of the fabric stores were located.

Day Fourteen

As this is our last weekend in Hyderabad we didn’t want to miss the chance of seeing Ramoji Film City, the world’s largest film studio where they are capable of shooting 24 movies at any one time. On entering we took the backstage bus tour, this allowed us to see the various sets including the airport, hospital, library, and little London. There were also a huge selection of themed gardens to be used as sets, with fountains, exotic flowers, Roman sculptures, Hindu goddesses and even a Wild West cactus garden. On the tour, we disembarked from the bus to visit some man-made caves which were adorned with beautiful reliefs of Hindu and Buddhist gods and goddess. Walking through the grounds we came across a simulation of a historical Indian palace where we were able to watch a traditional Indian puppet show.
To escape the rain and eat some lunch we visited “Jimmy’s Drive In” were again we dined on Indian fast food.
After lunch we visited Ramoji Tower to discover the thrill of a virtual free-fall, with the help of ascoustics and special effects. This was a rather naive simulator ride which allowed us to experience an earthquake and bomb blast, this sensation was continued in the deconstructed decor of the exit area from the ride. We also visited Filmi Duniya where we boarded a little train which took us on a guided tour around the world. We experienced a colourful imperial Rome, mystical palaces of Baghdad and the childish romance of Paris.

The Movie Magic area was our next port of call, an interactive experience were the audience were able to participate in the production of a short film. As luck would have it, three of our students were selected from a large crowd, one as leading lady, and the other two as special effects assistants. Begüm, dressed in a yellow sari, and seated in a Wild West carriage was filmed before a blue screen while her carriage was violently rocked by Yasemin and Başak. In post-production, children added the sound effects and the additional film of cowboys chasing Begüm in her carriage was added. The whole experience was rather funny and Begüm became an instant celebrity, for the rest of our visit many Indians were approaching her for photographs.
Other attractions which we visited included a Thrill Ride simulator, a Wild West stunt show and The Spirit of Ramoji dance show.

Day Thirteen

For Saturday, we decided to hire a coach and guide and take a more touristic tour of Hyderabad city. We left campus at 9:30a.m. and drove across the city to the “Salarjung Museum” which held an international collection of artifacts. Italian sculpture, a wide variety of international glassware, metalwork, armoury, ivory, precious stones and painting, had been collected by one particular Nizam of Hyderabad.

After the museum we drove through Charminar, which is one of the central shopping districts in Hyderabad, in particular it is famous for its lacquer bangles and pearl jewellery. The monument was constructed to commemorate a plague in the city and has 4 impressive minarets. Unfortunately, we were unable to shop in this district as the guide had warned us that it was especially dangerous for tourists. Eager to please his shopaholic clients, the guide quickly detoured towards a craft market where we were able to find a wide variety of souvenirs.

It was now late afternoon and we were very hungry but as we were in the city centre our choice of American fast food outlets was limited so we decided to settle for the guides recommended restaurant where we discovered some rather delicious Indian fast food.

In the afternoon, we travelled through the old town, which homes the Muslim population, to the edge of the city where we visited Hyderabad Fort. For our entire group this was definitely a highlight of our trip to India as it broadened our knowledge of Indian culture and ancient architecture. Formerly the home of the Rulers and Nizams of Hyderabad, this ancient ruin consisted of 275 steps up a steep mountain to a fortress. The Fort was situated within its own individual walled city which interestingly used a system of clapping and echoes as a means of communication in days gone by. There were many ruined buildings with-in the complex including, administrative centres, a mosque, bathing facilities and accommodation for the ruling family and their servants.

Day Eleven & Twelve

After the research and analysis of a wide variety of aspects from both cultures, students were finally ready to begin designing. Working still in pairs, so to create matching garments or accessories for the same collection, the students made 4 initial sketches for the first day.

Fatima Pilgrami, an instructor from the Fashion Design Department at NİFT, very kindly offered to take us on a tour of some designer stores in Hyderabad. The university bus took us to one well-known fashion street where we were free to visit the following stores.

Origins – This was an exclusive store selling a selection of Indian designer labels. They seemed to specialise in bridal and evening wear, with heavily embroidered saris retailing for as much as 80 000 rupee ($2000). In Indian culture it is traditional for the bride to wear yellow, orange or green, but more modern brides are also opting for alternative bright colour combinations. The store also held a wide variety of “Sherwani”, the traditional suit worn by Indian grooms and also the traditional headwear called “Pagdri”, the Indian version of the turban.


















Creative Bee – This was another textile store which specialised in natural dyes, block printing and experimental weave structures.

WunderShop – This quirky store was run by Kedal Maddlu, an ex- graduate of Nift. The interior had been specially customized with a wide variety of decorative objects, mainly from Indian hand-craft and with a recycled flavour. This young designer had printed traditional symbols and kitsch references on modernized version of traditional Indian attire.






















Satay Paul – This store catered for the more mature woman with classical printed textiles, from saris to scarves, and also some rather nice ties for the male shopper.

Anokhi – Selling a selection of block printed fabrics, ready made garments and accessories, Anokhi is one of the better known design names in contemporary Indian fashion.

Ritu Kumar – Rita Kumar is one of the most famous textile and fashion designers in India. Heavily beaded sari’s and eveningwear with intricate embroidery are displayed alongside a more wearable contemporary daywear collection.
















On the Friday, we continued with the sketching and finalised each students design before breaking for the weekend. In the evening, we visited the “City Centre” shopping mall for some retail therapy and familiar food.

Day Ten

With the mapping now complete, boths set of students had a better understanding of their peers culture, and were now ready to prepare their moodboards. Still working in the same groups, students focused on a more refined concept developed from the initial board.

In general the imagery featured on the boards, and the visual presentation were interesting, with both students representing the most interesting aspects of both cultures. Problems arose, however, when trying to create a hybrid solution to fulfil the needs of the brief.

Olgay and Rohan decided to concentrate on the symbolic body ornamentation from Indian culture, called Sadhu, this was combined with the Evil Eye of Turkish culture.

Begüm and Abhilasha with some revision of their narrative calligraphic presentation concluded with a more graphically inspired solution which they complimented with some three dimensional design references.

Müge and Mayur focused on the relationship between the dance style of Sufism and Indian classical dance. By incorporating a variety of musical instruments from both cultures they expanded on their source material for design inspiration.