The Vogue India Fashion Fund was set up to provide emerging designers with a platform to showcase their talent along with mentorship and financial support.
In its fourth edition, VIFF made way for two new categories alongside Womenswear—Accessories and Sari Design.
After undergoing rounds of evaluation by a jury—Vogue India's editor Priya Tanna, fashion director Anaita Shroff Adajania, marketing director Oona Dhabar, couturiers Suneet Varma and Gaurav Gupta, fashion entrepreneur Pernia Qureshi, Sunil Sethi of FDCI, Alka Nishar of Aza and Kunal Dass of Van Heusen, the winners of VIFF 2015 were announced last night at the Q'la in New Delhi.
The nippy weather added to the air of excitement as the finalists gathered for an evening with industry influencers and muses. Dhruv Kapoor emerged as the winner and took home a cash prize Rs 25 lakhs. Kapoor also gets the opportunity to create a line with Van Huesen.
Payal Khandwala won the Peroni award and was the first runner up. Nimish Shah of Shift followed as the second runner up. Sisters Sasha and Kaabia Grewal won in the Accessories category and a cash prize of Rs 7 lakhs, sponsored by Alka Nishar. The jury introduced a Sari Design category, where Anavila Misra of Anavila came through as the undisputed winner. Sunil Sethi, Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Anita Dongre contributed to the prize money of Rs 7.5 lakhs.
The winners were joined by the likes of designers such as Anita Dongre, Gaurav Gupta, JJ Valaya, Amit Aggarwal and Arjun Saluja. Pernia Qureshi, Prerna Malhotra and Angelique Raina were spotted at the party. To support the participants, contemporary designers like Ragini Ahuja, Shivan & Narresh and last year's VIFF winner, Ruchika Sachdeva, were in attendance.
Kapoor, in his speech, mentioned that his job as a designer was not to give people what they want, but to give them something they don't know they need yet. Perhaps that could serve as a starting point for those looking at participating next year.
