On the night of September 9th, 2023, Milan City transformed into a mini North East India at the historical venue of Villa Necchi Campiglio in the heart of the city. The occasion was the 17th edition of the prestigious Celebrating North East India Festival organized by the North East Institute of Fashion Technology (NEIFT) and the Consulate General of India, Milan.
Vikram Rai Medhi, the Festival Director, along with Ajungla Jamir, Consul General of Milan, welcomed the packed house and felicitated several dignitaries, including Mr. Luca Bernardo, Councilor of the Municipality of Milan and Vice President of the Anti-Mafia Commission of Italy.
Vikram Rai Medhi, CEO of NEIFT, spoke passionately about the 16-year journey of this festival and expressed his gratitude to all for coming and showing support to make the 17th edition in Milan, the Fashion Capital of the World, such a huge success.
Eight talented designers from North East India, including Robert Naorem, Daniel Syiem, Priyanka D Patwari, Barsha Phukan, Escape Engmoia, Pella, Kashmiri, and Huangpi Gogoi, presented a colorful, vibrant, and handcrafted fashion show with a lineup of top international models from the Milan Fashion Industry along with models from North East India. ICCR, Govt. of India, presented various forms of folk dances from the North Eastern Region.
Upcoming artist from Assam, Aaryaman, enthralled the audience with songs composed and sung by him. Nagaland Tourism and Meghalaya Tourism mesmerized the international audience with captivating tourism videos, which the organizers believe will excite the European community to visit these two beautiful states of the North East Region.
The poolside of Villa Necchi Campiglio looked majestic and beautiful with the gathering of an international audience representing various nations, the fashion fraternity, civil society, academicians, media fraternity, etc., coming together to celebrate the spirit and vibrancy of our exotic North East Region.
Representatives from the Diplomatic Corps of the United States of America, United Kingdom, Australia, Brazil, Austria, Poland, and a large contingent of the who’s who of fashion houses such as Gucci, Prada, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Valentino, Versace, Giorgio Armani, etc., attended the festival in large numbers. Design faculties and academicians from various prestigious universities in Lombardy were also present.
The dignitaries present also included Ms. Sabrina Pane, Deputy Prefect of Milan; Ms. Denise Mutton, Deputy Commissioner of Police; Mr. Kang Hyung-Shik, Consul General of the Republic of South Korea; Mr. Kobayashi Toshiaki, Consul General of Japan; Dr. Stjepan Ribic, Honorable Consul General of Croatia; Mr. Hadil Da Rocha-Vianna, Consul General of Brazil; Ms. Michelangela Vismara, Honorable Consul General of the Bahamas; U.P. Singh, Former Secretary Textiles & Jal Shakti, Govt. of India; Federick Roy Kharkongar, Commissioner Secretary Art & Culture, Govt. of Meghalaya; and Dr Ritu Ranjan, representing Lok Ranjan, Secretary, Ministry of DoNER, Govt. of India, etc.
The associates of the festival included the Ministry of DoNER, North Eastern Council, Ministry of Textiles, Meghalaya Tourism, Nagaland Tourism, Office of DC Handicrafts, KVIC, Oil India Ltd., NeDFi, NEHHDC, Silk Mark, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), ICCI. Mr. Rai Medhi announced at the finale that this festival is traveling to various countries to highlight North East India.
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