“In difficult times, fashion is always outrageous.” – Elsa Schiaparelli
The Bhawanipur Education Society College, through its Fashion collective ‘Fashionista’, hosted a pageant in collaboration with I-Glam to conduct auditions for finding the next faces of West Bengal through the ‘9th I-Glam Mr. and Ms. Bengal 2024’; on the 16th of May 2024 from 1.00 P.M to 6.00 P.M. at the Concept Hall of the college. The event’s theme was the amalgamation of Indo-Western culture and its influence in modern times. The major objective of the event was to scout for emerging fashion talents and models from the college who would be selected to compete for Mr and Ms West Bengal 2024. The hall welcomed a packed audience who settled down to witness an exhilarating show of fashion and personality filled with enthusiasm. The event anchor Srishti Jhunjhunwala welcomed the crowd with an inaugural address where she briefly outlined the event and about I-Glam, the modelling, grooming, and beauty pageant Academy. She handed over the dais to Miss Devjani Mitra, founder of I-Glam, who introduced the event and comprehensively talked about I-Glam’s Entrepreneurial journey in the last nine years which has led them to have five lakh fashion students, passing from their branch academies and making it big into the fashion world or film industry from the different states of the country such as West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, or Jharkhand. She also enumerated the various welfare initiatives they undertake yearly concerning women’s empowerment and child safety. She took the opportunity to introduce jury members Putul Dhar, Sagar Jha, Siddharth Sehal, Preeti Jagwani, Shrubabati Chowdhury, and Preet Walia. To conclude her speech, she meticulously elucidated the guidelines to all the contestants, thereby announcing the event to kick off. The event was grouped into two categories namely: the ramp walk and the talent round. The show kickstarted with the ramp walk where the contestants, first girls and then the boys, demonstrated themselves through their fashion senses. The girls embraced the stage with absolute passion and vigour to display their fashion skills which left the audience in utmost awe of their abilities and talent. The introductory session that followed saw each of the female contestants introduce themselves and briefly speak about their hobbies, ambitions, and what brings them here. A few fumbled, and a few got nervous, while the constant encouragement in the form of cheer and support from the audience helped them unanimously regain their confidence and speak their heart out. Similarly, the male contestants showcased their talents on the stage with their aura and charisma lightening the mood of the event once again. The constant cheers and shoutouts from their friends served as boosters resulting in an exquisite show of stamina inside the hall. Maintaining the event flow, all the male contestants stood up to introduce themselves to the jury, discussing their hobbies and aspirations in life. In the talent round, the participants showcased their respective talents; be it dancing, singing, poetry, rapping, standup comedy, or acting. The jury was completely amazed by this show of skills, mentality, and perseverance which they mentioned during their end note. Another major sight was the audience’s involvement from the sides, as they danced to the tunes, clapped in sheer bewilderment in support of their friends, and seemed to enjoy this event in their highest spirits.
