Fashion designing students want to change the look of politicians Given her long-sleeved kurtas in insipid colours complete with mannish cuffs and collars,it is hard to imagine Behenji Mayawati,the Bahujan Samaj Party supremo,dressed natty in a pin-tuck kurta teamed with smart churidaar-pants! But if fashion designing students in Chandigarh were to have their way,Mayawati Maam would step out for her campaigns dressed in an A-line khadi kurta offset with a silken stole in her party colour ink blue! Steered by the outdated style statements being made by leading politicians,students of the Inter National Institute of Fashion Design (INIFD) across the country want to change the way the leaders dress up. Despite being in positions of importance,our leaders fail to make a style statement. Look at how the world cheered the well-dressed Obamas, said INIFD vice-president,corporate affairs,Aditi Srivastava,as she shared the institutes initiative to dress five leading politicos. On the list are Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh,BSP chief Mayawati,Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav,NDAs prime ministerial candidate L K Advani and Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. We have rolled out a pan-India contest in which fashion and textile students spread across our 180 centres will compete for the best design and look, said Srivastava. The designs will then be judged by a line-up of celebrities from the world of fashion,and the winning designs will be presented to the five leaders by the third week of May. They can sport a new look while forming a new government, said Srivastava. The challenge has seen students get down to work with full enthusiasm. We dont want to make them glamour icons but will definitely offer a new look by fine-tuning their dressing sense. For Mayawati Maam,we have kept the silhouettes simple and breezy,keeping her figure in mind, said Arka Mrigank,a final-year student of INIFD,Chandigarh. Sandeep Kaushik,also a student of textile design,has put together a series of patterns and weaves to make fitted jackets for Narendra Modi and L K Advani. Its all in handloom and makes the use of cotton, he said. As far as wardrobe changes go,the students want Dr Manmohan Singh to say goodbye to his white-kurta-and-blue-turban combination. It seems he likes light shades and we have designed grey-toned linen suits for him along with khadi silk kurtas in vegetable dye colours, said Ashish Kumar,another student. In the sketches,Lalu Prasad Yadav,who is always seen sporting a crumpled kurta and dhoti,gets a linen suit in blue! Its time politicians took time out to dress smart as thats the way we want to see them, said a student,echoing the views of others.
