Summa International Fashion collaborated with an Indian Tamil organisation, Stichting EYAL, for a fashion show for the Tamil New Year at Theatre De Schalm. About 840 Tamils celebrated together to welcome the Tamil New Year on Saturday.
Last Saturday, 147 people performed on stage, which includes 107 children. Dances dominated, mostly in contemporary style, along with a classical Bharathanatyam performance by students of Natanam Dance Academy. A bunch of toddlers and their mothers opened the performances with cuteness overload. A skit cooked up wisecracks and had the audience in splits. Dressed in black and silver, a kids’ band upped the sticks with the musical quotient. The fashion show, in collaboration with Summa College, was “a first” of such collaborations.
This effort was a maiden collaboration for Summa students with an Indian organisation. Beena Arunraj from Stichting Eyal reached out to Marloes Michielsen of Summa College, thus sowing the seeds for the collaboration. Lecturers Kim van de Laar and Yvonne Seuren orchestrated the project.
Marloes gushes, “Saturday was like stepping into the far East, just around the corner, smelling these lovely dishes, watching the people, children and artists on stage. The traditional saris were a treat for the eye. While Kim van de Laar explains, “It was a good collaboration between the fashion students and models. The students had real-life experience with image styling. They thoroughly analysed colour, type, shape and clothing advice. Speaking English with people from a different culture was an added value, and it helped reach the goals of internationalisation@home topic.
Anusha Mandalapu who coordinated the fashion show for Stichting Eyal reflects, “When Beena first approached me with the idea of a Fashion Show, I was absolutely thrilled! From delving into the creative minds of fashion students to the meticulous execution – from choreography to crafting the perfect song sequence with popular Tamil music and orchestrating practice sessions – every step was a blend of excitement and anticipation. I owe a lot to my incredible team for their patience and willingness to experiment, which ultimately paved the way for a successful show”.
Jopie, Leticia and Maya, three students from Summa fashion had a wonderful time at the Eyal Tamil New Year. They enthusiastically checked out the clothing stores and relished the cross-cultural immersion. The food stalls and the performances delighted them. Jopie even got a henna tattoo on her palm and happily showed it off.
Yvonne Seuren, “Very friendly people and a real get together in traditional culture with loads of young people and children, which guarantees many more parties in the future. The models were shining in our clothing, which was different from their ethnic fashion yet maintained the aspects of tie and dye technique from Indian culture. So happy we got the chance to participate!
