Q&A: Anchal Sehgal, Cara Ovens and Pareeya Olarnkitanan

April 25th, 2008

Anchal Sehgal, Cara Ovens and Pareeya Olarnkitanan are fi rst year fashion design students from Academia Italiana participating in a fashion lingerie show as a part of the Triumph Inspiration Award competition. The winner’s works will be presented in Beijing and will be produced by Triumph.

BK: Why did you choose to study fashion design?

Cara Ovens: I like how the design industry changes all the time. And also I study fashion design because opportunities in the industry are endless. I can be a stylist for TV, a magazine, or design my own clothes.
Pareeya Olarnkitanan: For me, it’s all about showing ideas, being creative. I’ve loved it since I was a kid.
Anchal Sehgal: I like the freedom of doing what you want. Design is playing with things. I like fashion design because I like to play with fabrics. Sometimes it comes out weird and people don’t accept it but that’s fi ne, too.

BK: What will the competition bring you?

AS: Exposure, but also experience. When we started out, we didn’t know much. But then we began putting things together to make a fashion show and we learned a lot.
PO: I entered the competition just so I could experience a real fashion show and to try to discover my style. I might be able to develop something based on this experience that I can use in future shows.

BK: So, winning is not the most important thing?

PO: Not at all. What we need is experience.
CO: Yes, experience and to build up our portfolio.

BK: Define your style.

AS: Mine is a mix of difference shapes. My designs fit the hip line and the fabrics use a lot graphics.
CO: Me and my partner, Aveenash Nadaraja, want to focus on being modern; we want to represent the new generation. So we use strong colors, strong contrasts. Half of the collection is normal bras and the rest are sport bras.
PO: I’m all about making modernity meet classicism. All
eight pieces are pink, with an extremely feminine feel.

BK: Is it harder to design lingerie than clothes?

AS: For sure. Lingerie has to fi t the body perfectly and show off its shape. So, everything has to be perfect: the fabric, the cutting...

BK: Do you think you are going to win?

AS: Everyone does. Look, I don’t know if I’m going to win this thing or not but I like my collection the best. Nobody wants to focus on who is going to win. We’re enjoying having made it here. We’re already winners, in a way.