SOID Design Students Turn Heads at Aavishkar Fair with ‘Oceana: Threads of Hope’ Sustainable Visual Merchandising Installation

Students of the Silver Oak Institute of Design (SOID) of Silver Oak University, in an exhibit of sustainable fashion, eco-friendly design, and next-gen creativity, took centre stage at the Aavishkar Project Fair with their immersive visual merchandising setup of their project, Oceana: Threads of Hope.

About The Collection

The original collection, which is the idea of Ms. Sakshi Agarwal under her brand Desi Decode, is a tribute to the beauty of the ocean flora and fauna and, at the same time, raises awareness about the protection of the marine ecosystem. The collection is inspired by the coral reefs, ocean waves, sea creatures and underwater ecosystems using eco-friendly materials, ocean colour palette, and coral textures, blending handcrafted techniques which includes a combination of art and environmental sustainability.

Nature-Inspired and Environmentally-friendly Craftsmanship

Oceana: Threads of Hope is a poetic legend of perfect unity between the world and nature. The clothes are adorned with hand embroidery, fine appliques and handwoven Kala cotton, and transfer the rhythm of the sky and sea and the earth into clothes. The line advocates eco-friendly style, calling upon the new generation to not sacrifice style to buy ethically and environmentally-friendly clothing. 

Students Build a sustainable, Immersive VM Environment

In order to make this eco-friendly design come alive, SOID design students, namely Nirva Bagsariya, Ansari Sahira, Moksha Porwal and Kaushik Kumar, designed an immersive visual merchandising installation that made visitors stop, watch and participate.

The setup used:

• Reused and recycled materials.
• Forms and textures that have marine inspirations.
• Soothening subaquatic aesthetics.
• Eco-friendly spatial narration.

This experiential visual merchandising setup made the space look like an underwater world to provide the visitors with a more insightful view of the message behind the collection of sustainable design, marine protection, and responsible fashion decisions.

Mentorship and Recognition

The students were mentored extensively by both Mr. Ritesh Singh, the Dean of SOID and Mr. Sanjay Kumar, the Faculty Mentor, in terms of their clarity in concept, craftsmanship, innovation, and design-driven sustainability. Their work is one of the brightest examples of the way young designers can make a difference in the environment with careful visual merchandising.

A Collection That is Attracting Appreciation 

Having been presented at the TIMES Fashion Week previously, Oceana: Threads of Hope is still a subject of discussions on:

• Eco-friendly fashion
• Ocean-inspired design
• Sustainable textiles
• Responsible and ethical design.

All-in-all, Silver Oak Institute of Design is dedicated to train creative genius designers with a purpose- to equip a generation of designers who will design the future, for the planet, and meaningful change.