INTERVIEW
birth-anniversary celebration of Mahatma Gandhi,
we had a year-long calendar of activities. All our
campuses had interactions and workshops to
educate and help our students to understand
the value of khadi. We even had a public fashion
show by Pearl alumni, displaying how khadi
can be contemporary. Next, our students from
Noida created an art installation depicting the
historic Dandi March led by Mahatma Gandhi
during the Freedom Struggle. The installation
was put up at the National Charkha Museum in
New Delhi. Additionally, we put up 150 charkhas
with spinners from khadi centres at a popular
youth destination in the city, inviting people to
spin the yarn and initiate conversations around
hand-spinning, independence, and sustainable
fashion. In collaboration with the Ministry of Micro,
Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and the
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce
& Industry (FICCI), we also participated in an
event called ‘Khadi Goes Global’, to promote
sustainable fashion. There are more such
initiatives that we will keep launching across India
in the coming years.
HOW DOES GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL
EXPOSURE PLAY INTO A STUDENT’S
ACADEMIC JOURNEY AT PEARL?
Our students have been assisting designers
at international fashion weeks for the last eight
years. They have assisted Manish Arora, Rahul
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December 2019
Mishra, Miu Miu, and others across Paris, Milan
and New York. This year, we have incorporated
this in our curriculums so that all Pearl Academy
students can opt to work at international fashion
events. In this way, our students have the
opportunity to experience global fashion and
understand what it takes to be international
fashion professionals. This year, we have had 100
students who interned at international fashion
weeks. The experience has been eye-opening,
motivating, and transformative for them.
WHAT ARE THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT
EXIST FOR STUDENTS GRADUATING
AFTER STUDYING FASHION TODAY?
It is extensive. The fashion industry offers a
plethora of opportunities—from being a designer,
stylist, fashion journalist, creative director, blogger,
digital/social media marketer to a costume
designer, surface designer, visual merchandiser,
entrepreneur…The list is endless.
Today, fashion has become all-pervasive and is
seen influencing almost every facet of our day-to-
day lives.
With the world being so interconnected, we
see our alumni playing influential roles globally.
Some examples include Rohan Chhabra, senior
designer, Polo Ralph Lauren; Pallavi Yadav,
who worked for the Youth Fashion Summit
in Copenhagen; Priyanka Sarkar, whose film
Namaste was selected for the sixth edition of