(Himanshu Parmar, Final year NIFT, Winner of the Smirnoff International Fashion Awards)

He is inspired by Aryabhatta. Enjoys the space between nothingness and salvation. And has discovered new meanings and uses for buttons. Himanshu Parmar is as intense as he is soft spoken. Hailing from Ahmedabad, Himanshu is in his final semester at the National Institute of Fashion Technology in Bangalore. He is the winner of this years Designer of the year at the "Smirnoff International Fashion Awards", South Zone finals. He spoke to Online Bangalore about his winning creations.

How did you apply for the awards?
I got to know that the theme was ‘liberation’, and therefore I sent in my work.
   
What did the theme liberation mean to you?
I was inspired by zero. To Aryabhatta, it was zero in the mathematical system. But to me zero was liberation. When you have nothing in your life, at that moment you are at the stage of salvation. And beyond that if you don’t have anything, you seem to have everything. This was

How did you link this to your garment creations?
I symbolised the zero with the button. So my creations were buttons on fabric. We had to create two garments. One for the Avant-Garde section and the other for the commercial section. The black dress in knit fabric was for avant-garde while the white dress in sheer fabric was for the commercial.
   
What is the difference between avant-garde and commercial dresses?
Well, the avant-garde is a wild type of costume, which is not an everyday wear. It is just designed to display one’s creativity. While the commercial costume is designed for everyday life.