European Union organizes internships for Fashion Design students

The European Union (EU) funded Pakistan Leather Competitiveness Improvement Program (PLCIP) supervised a six weeks internship for 3rd year Leather Footwear and Accessories Program students from the Pakistan Institute of Fashion Design (PIFD) at leading footwear companies in Lahore.

The internship was facilitated by Ms. Giovanna Villani, a leather footwear design expert from Milan. Ms Villani has almost thirty years of design experience with top international brands such as Perry Ellis, Tods, Moschino, Missoni etc, and she is a visiting faculty at the POLITECNICO Milan.

One of the main objectives of the internship was to provide the footwear manufacturers an opportunity to work with the upcoming graduates, and to provide the students the opportunity to develop “usable” designs for the prototypes which could further be adopted by the companies.

The entire purpose of the internship program was to bridge the gap between the PIFD and the footwear firms, and to facilitate a “real life experience” for the students, to equip them to enter the workforce in a more practical and market oriented manner.  The internship was spread over 6 weeks, and each team consisted of three students assigned to each company. These students were assigned the task by PLCIP experts to make three prototypes shoe designs each based on the most exotic cultural traditions of Pakistan, transforming the folk designs into something contemporary. Furthermore, each student had to familiarize themselves with the complete shoe making process i.e design to production.

Furthermore, Ms. Giovanna was of the view that the students should come up with contemporary designs using the rich cultural themes of Pakistan which will give a new flavor and such fresh and original ideas will draw the export markets attention.

Students drew inspiration from Peshawari chappal, camel art (from the province of Sindh), Punjabi Khussas and Kalash festival etc. and composed a beautiful collection of shoes.

The companies have shown interest in showcasing these prototypes produced by the students to their local and export customers at the upcoming RIVA Del GARDA fair in January 2016.