Fashion today we see it as it happens, enjoy it, feel as part of the many things that interest us every day. People wish to put on something that makes them look nice and feel good. The ultimate role of clothes is to please the individuals. Fashion today is the flashiest, most expensive, traveling road show in the world. Fashion designers are powerful personalities in the twentieth century. They have the glittering charisma and recognition value of international movie stars and top notch models. A fashion designer, unlike a creator in the fine arts, is an acknowledge trend setter. A model with ordinary looks who wears fashionable and stylish clothes is admirable.
Fashion is a game with no rules and at same time, you have to know all the rules. This is a place where every other person tries to dominate the others especially the weaker ones. Fashion is the place where you find the best of loving friends who bitches about you, at your absence, be it the models, designers, makeup artists or the photographers. It is also the place where you are always flourishing in your business and sharing it with your friends whereas on the other hand you do not have money to pay your mobile bills or house rents. This is also a place where one thinks themselves to be the best and advices and criticizes everyone. This is a place where you can rightly say -TWO PEOPLE OF THE SAME LINE CAN NEVER BE FRIENDS. Well, fashion is not something that sits on your shoulders and imposes itself on you. Yes, dear readers this is fact about the world of fashion which I myself experience over the years, but that does not means it is only there in this glamour industry.
It is not essential that a successful model should be extremely beautiful most of the successful models today are ordinary girls from average families and yet overnight they became super models of the world. Slender, long face, broad forehead, limpid dark eyes, high cheek bones, straight nose and well defined jaw line and suitable make up on such classic striking features sometimes come in the focus of camera. A woman does not need to be totally beautiful. She needs just an intelligent look-an intelligent gesture. Real beauty belongs to a very few women. When a woman walks into a room and is not only bright but is dressed appropriately with a style that makes her look smooth, she looks beautiful, always special but not obvious .Sometimes new faces get good assignments due to contact with top films and fashion photographers. Sometimes foreign houses find the Indian models fascinating; they are selected for assignments by foreign advertising agencies. Many young, fresh, beautiful faces vanish after a few press campaigns. A successful model should be well familiar with the art of catwalk. With regular rehearsals and shows, one improves; shyness is a big obstacle in this profession.
Modeling is now no longer a hobby or part time fancy. The change today is dramatic and girls from good families are keen to adopt this glamorous career. The media has also played an important role in bringing about this change in people perception .Metropolitan city on must first undergo a session of grooming classes and be well prepared with on charismatic personality to face the outer world. So always work hard in the basic foundation before moving to the outer world. A model should perceive his or her profession very seriously Like any other profession this profession is very short termed and challenging, one should give his or her best without wasting time to make a place for him or her in the glamour world .Also in case of NE models by participating in national contests and other beauty pageants he or she gets experience. It is seen that models from northeast are participating in the contests held at national level ,are performing well there and few of them ended winning the contest. The reason very few girls and boys from northeast has made it to the top , I feel is -1.Lack of exposure in the glamour line 2.Poor and weak personality 3.Will power to fight till the end 4.Working extra hard to build up their physical and mental strength 5.Lack of Confidence and Diction. Besides they should know just how to make their charm work for them. I feel a aspiring model should prepared themselves in all this above mention points at least three years before they entered the pageant(believe me all those who wins they do).There are institute in the metros like Bangalore , Delhi and Mumbai to groom them. In fact in the country Venezuela, parents prepared their child at the early age of five or six years onwards, that’s the reason it has won maximum of all international beauty pageants in the world. I every year make it a point to launch at least five new male and five female models in the fashion world and help the best among them to make it to the national level only if I find them really promising and hard working.
As a designer I feel the new designers of northeast are doing nothing interesting, they are just cutting the traditional fabric of their states and are making something, which people find boring after a time. If you compare the other designers of India , you will notice they are not only using the traditional fabric but are also mixing and matching them with the other fabrics available in the market to make it more saleable. Remember real original creativity always speak no matter what. Designers in northeast should now put more importance on the quality of each of their garments rather than quantity. They should try and add value to the ethnic designs of northeast and promote it worldwide to make it more saleable.
A new designer should plan at least for three months before launching their yearly collection and most important thing they should show their design sketches to their near and dear ones and do a good homework before launching it. I also feel twice in a year the best student designers of northeast should get a scholarship from their institute or the government for their upliftment and they should conduct regular workshop where they can interact with the other designers of India and know about the latest happening in the fashion world .The government should wake up now to help the talented designers of northeast before their talent dies out. The government should also revive the old traditional designs of northeast, muga which is touching almost gold, s price is becoming rare, should be more available in a reasonable cost, until and unless strong action is taken fashion in northeast will always remain a distant dream. A strong promotion and up liftment is badly needed.
The young designers should be aware of their potential and should make a good plan of their designs before putting them in the market. They should also not copy what other designers are creating rather than they should wait and create something which is both wearable and saleable in the market. Like any other profession this profession also has scopes of opening many avenue in future for that model a model has to work hard and move on to brighter side of life ‘’ the fashion scenario of north east is at a rapid speed towards development. The dedication towards work in both the cases i.e for designing and in modeling has helped N.E fashion status to raise high in comparison to Mumbai and other fashion examples but overall it needs little bit of more development to have an individual image of their own. A new dimension is to be added to the fashion scenario in the NE by the way of holding fashion shows intensively throughout the length and breadth of the region. Unfortunately in some fashion events which are happening sponsored by a department of govt. of India, the organizers are giving chance to their own people like their wives and repeatedly to their near and dear ones. And it is not necessary they would turn out to be extremely talented designers by promoting in house talents, strict action should be taken against this self promotion lobbies who are misusing government funds. Many a time cash awards which are meant for the weavers are distributed among their own members. These organizers are also seen trying to impress high officials by exploiting new aspiring models.
Like any other profession this profession also has scopes of opening many avenue in future for that model has to work hard and move on to brighter side of life ‘’ the fashion scenario of N.E is at a rapid speed towards development. For aspiring models, never ever come in the binding of working with only one organizer no matter how close you are with them .A real good organizer will tell you to work and built a healthy relation with everyone( at least the genuine ones) and that is the way you grow in this industry. A new dimension is to be added to the fashion scenario in the N.E by the way of holding fashion shows, exhibitions etc intensively throughout the length and breadth of the region by giving it the right people time to time.
Fashion is of course not restricted to women. There are a large number of male models in the north east with excellent height and well sculpted bodies. They have all qualities to compete for the national pageants like Glad rags manhunt or the Mr. India contest .The models of northeast should work tremendously towards their development as mention above to compete in this pageants .In northeast there are only three pageants exclusively working for their development. First is the MALESTORM (started in 2000 and is held every alternate years) which is for the males, Ms Luit (started in the year 2001) and recently started Ms Northeast Diva (started in 2013, which promises direct entry to Femina Ms India contest) . The past winners of these pageants are doing very well internationally as well as some of the metropolitans of India. It is the ultimate platform in the northeast for the young males and females to showcase their talent, beauty and machismo in the vast world of fashion and modeling. This three pageants is a spectacular and superb events reflecting power, inner beauty, style and talent in fascinating postures .In some other northeast contests which is happening, more importance is given on the stage and looks of the show and the winner is quickly forgotten before the next one. They promises big cash prizes and end up giving not even a certificate. There are also organizers who take the winners or aspiring new models to places like Delhi and Mumbai with big hope and ask them to become intimate with the local business man. In return they are promise a house to stay, their portfolio, assignments etc; slowly they come into another cruel side of this glamour industry. Please remember there is no shortcut to success and there is no substitute of hard work and true talents. Please also remember both male and female models never compromise, for if you are truly talented you will shine no matter what comes you way. People who follows the shortcut are out of this industry before they realize. Innocent beauty contest participants are asked to sign contract, without any future for them. I would like to alert those participants, do not sign any contract where you see no future and always go through the past history of those organizers. And to those organizers also I would like to say, what is the point of contract if you cannot give them work, money and above all numbers of events are also very less in comparison to the metros in northeast. Let the best guy or girl flourish by not putting them in any contract and let them be free to shine in life. Because if they shine, it will be a pride for entire northeast. I would also alert these new models to beware of such organizers, institutes who promise big dreams and make you work without paying or instead demand for a huge amount from you. Just do your homework on the past history of such organizers, the number of events and kind of events they do and such organizers will always talk big about themselves to convince and fool you.
The young blood and the youth be encouraged to form the life following it has means of attaining a disciplined career to develop the fashion industry should be molded and get rid of some back dated prejudices.
THE WRITER IS A FASHIONDESIGNER AND CHOREOGRAPHER AND CAN BE CONTACTED at dkreativepeople@gmail.com and phone-09706001220.