Undergraduates soar with flying colours

KUALA LUMPUR: Fashion design has always been a powerful way of expressing ideas and innovation. In a highly competitive world, it requires a designer to have a strong portfolio to be recognised and get ahead.

At Tunku Abdul Rahman University of Management and Technology (TAR UMT), final year students of the Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Fashion Design are required to organise a fashion show, in addition to creating their own line of clothing.

The latest edition of such a fashion show was titled “Aliferous”, defined as “having wings”. It was an apt theme, alluding to designers who are emerging from their cocoons and preparing to fly into the fashion industry.

The event showcased 66 designs by 11 final year students, one of whom was Priya Trikamlal, with a collection themed “Gothical Arche”.

“The idea of a Gothic outlook served as the inspiration for my designs. In order to express the feelings of luxury, richness and elegance with a hint of mystery, my overall designs have the black tone with gold concept. This is how I demonstrated the elegance in darkness,” said Priya.

“As I am using velvet for the materials in my clothing line, the process of constructing the garment was tricky as velvet is not an easy material to work with, in terms of preparation and cutting.”

On top of being one of the designers for the show, she also took on a second role of being the treasurer.

“My main responsibility was to raise funds to support the show. It was not an easy role as it deals with money and when money is in the picture, there are bound to be rejections.

“However, I saw the value of togetherness and unity in teamwork because the entire final year student team shared the responsibility of raising funds for our fashion show,” she said.

“As a result, we succeeded in securing valuable sponsorships from a number of companies.

“The overall experience of being a designer and treasurer for the fashion show has proven to be an enriching experience in many areas,” she added.

Priya also shared the many insights she gained from running the event with her team.

“The experience taught me a lot about valuing everyone’s opinion and although not all opinions are practical, I have learnt how to manage such opinions professionally, with the aim of preserving good teamwork.

“It has also built my confidence to interact with professionals. The experience of organising a fashion show from scratch will definitely add value to my portfolio and increase my chances of being a part of KL Fashion Week,” she said.

For more information about TAR UMT’s fashion design and other creative industries and communication programmes, visit the TAR UMT Open Day from now until June 23 from 10am to 5pm.

Please call 011-1067 8256 or log on to www.tarc.edu.my for information about TAR UMT and to apply online. Various financial aid and merit scholarships are available for qualified students.